Texas sued ActBlue on April 20, alleging that the Democratic Party’s political fundraising platform misleads consumers by illegally accepting fraudulent foreign donations for federal and state candidates.
“The radical left has relied on ActBlue as a way to funnel foreign donations and dark money into their political campaigns to subvert our laws and compromise the integrity of our elections,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in an April 20 statement. “ActBlue lied to Congress and to the American people, and I will ensure justice is served.”
Paxton claims that the platform “blatantly ignored state law” that prohibits deceptive practices.
“Fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, and I will work to ensure no illegal campaign donation flies under the radar,” he said.
In the statement, Paxton’s office said, “ActBlue funds primarily left-wing campaigns at all levels of government and has processed more than $16 billion since its founding in 2004.”
An ActBlue spokesperson said the lawsuit was an attempt to distract the public from upcoming elections.
“This is a thinly veiled attempt to distract from Ken Paxton’s numerous legal and ethical issues ahead of next month’s runoff,” ActBlue spokesperson De’Andra Roberts-LaBoo told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“If he and his Republican allies actually cared about donor fraud, they would work to strengthen security standards across the board, including within their own operations, rather than targeting ActBlue. Our platform has done more than any other, regardless of party, to prevent improper donations and protect donors.”
In 2025, ActBlue processed $1.78 billion in small-dollar donations through the platform, state prosecutors allege in the lawsuit.
Paxton opened an investigation into ActBlue’s donor transactions and possible violations of Texas law in 2023.
In 2024, Paxton sent a petition for rulemaking to the Federal Election Commission, recommending regulations that would close fundraising loopholes that he said jeopardized U.S. election integrity.
ActBlue told Congress that year that the company had implemented new policies to stop accepting all gift cards and foreign prepaid debit cards. Regulators closed their inquiries after ActBlue’s reassurances, according to the lawsuit.
However, Paxton alleged that further reporting and internal federal investigations have shown that ActBlue lied about its donor vetting policies and operations.
“ActBlue’s acceptance of gift cards and prepaid debit cards allows for fraudulent donations due to the lack of identification required,” according to the statement from Paxton’s office. “ActBlue’s misrepresentations could lead to entities utilizing its services to violate state and federal election laws.”
Paxton also made a criminal referral of ActBlue in 2024 to the U.S. Department of Justice based on the findings of the state’s investigation.
President Donald Trump issued a memo last year ordering an investigation into unlawful “straw donor” and foreign contributions to U.S. elections.
According to Trump, reports suggest that straw donations, which are political contributions made by people or entities who illegally use other identities or money to conceal the true source of the funds or evade campaign finance limits, were being made through ActBlue dummy accounts using gift cards or prepaid credit cards to evade detection.
U.S. House members on the Judiciary, Administration, and Oversight and Government Reform committees released a preliminary report on ActBlue in April 2025.
The House investigation revealed “extensive fraud on the platform, including from foreign sources,” the committee members said.
“Internal documents show that ActBlue executives and staff are aware that both foreign and domestic fraudulent actors are exploiting the platform but do not take the threat seriously,” they said in a joint statement.
In response, ActBlue said in a June 2025 statement that the organization “cooperated fully with these committees’ partisan-driven inquiries.”
“Rather than a legitimate exercise in legislative oversight,” the investigation is being used for “fabricating a foundation for a politically motivated criminal probe,” ActBlue stated.
Texas is seeking a permanent injunction and immediate halt to ActBlue’s operations.
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