The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Texas Majority PAC, a Democratic group in Texas, after a viral undercover video captured a now-fired staffer describing a $25 payment scheme he called a roundabout way of paying people for their votes. The staffer, Dylan Sky McAdams, was identified as the PAC’s organizing manager before he was let go over his remarks in the footage.
According to Fox News, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the DOJ investigation into Texas Majority PAC following the video’s release. The footage showed McAdams discussing an alleged plan tied to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico. Fox News reported on the DOJ investigation before the New York Post did, and the hidden-camera footage itself was first released by Townhall earlier in September.
What McAdams Said on Camera
In the video, McAdams said Texas Majority PAC was “paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class” about voting and Republican policies. He acknowledged a legal line exists, telling the camera, “You can’t pay someone to vote for someone,” but said people could still receive $25 for sitting through the hour-long class — something he labeled a gray area. McAdams went further, describing the arrangement as “a roundabout way of paying people for their votes” and calling it shady.
Federal law prohibits payments made in exchange for voting or not voting for certain candidates, and violators can face up to two years in prison. The Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch says it provides advice and guidance on election-crime cases including vote buying and absentee-ballot fraud, per the Department of Justice. Separately, 18 U.S.C. § 597 addresses expenditures or offers of expenditures meant to induce a person to vote, withhold a vote, or vote for or against a candidate, according to the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel.
The PAC’s Response
Texas Majority PAC spokesman Eddie Vale confirmed to Fox News that the video was real and had not been digitally altered or deceptively edited, but said McAdams’s description of the program was factually incorrect. Vale said participants are “compensated for their organizing work, just like any other job,” describing a relational organizing program in which Texans are hired to attend events teaching them to organize friends and family. Per the PAC, those participants then encourage friends and family to turn out and vote and send regular voting reminders — work Vale said has been “a standard part of every campaign’s playbook for years.”
Vale said McAdams was fired immediately after the remarks surfaced. Texas Majority PAC did not respond to the New York Post’s request for comment, and the Justice Department also did not respond to the outlet’s inquiry.
The $500,000 Payment to Relentless
Campaign-finance records show Texas Majority PAC paid political consulting firm Relentless $500,000 for its relational organizing program, a payment documented in a state campaign finance report, according to Townhall. Relentless has claimed similar campaigns it ran in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania in 2024 produced tens of thousands of Democratic votes, though reported figures conflict: Townhall cited 47,533 votes while Just the News put the figure at 47,333.
The investigation into Texas Majority PAC concerns alleged vote payments connected to the 2026 Texas midterm elections.
A Republican Congressman Weighs In
Rep. Pat Fallon called on Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate Texas Majority PAC, writing in a letter last month that the group had openly admitted to defying the law and purchasing votes in the U.S. Senate race. Fallon’s letter requesting Blanche’s intervention adds a congressional push to a matter already under federal review.
The Texas case arrives amid broader national friction over incentivized voter outreach. In Kansas, Attorney General Kris Kobach sent a cease-and-desist letter to League of Women Voters groups over alleged incentives tied to voter registration or voting, demanding they immediately stop offering cash, gift cards or other items of value in connection with registration or voting, according to The Federalist. Separately, the Justice Department has previously brought charges in comparable cases, including against a California woman accused of paying individuals — among them homeless people living in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles — to register to vote, according to a Department of Justice announcement.
