For decades, Carlton Carl was a fixture in Texas Democratic politics.
Starting his career at the Texas Capitol in the 1960s, Carl worked his way up to become press secretary to Governor Preston Smith. He later moved to Washington, DC and continued his career on Capitol Hill. Making his way back to Texas in 2004, Carl helped redevelop the once-derelict downtown of Martindale in Caldwell County and was active in the operations of the Texas Observer, a longstanding progressive magazine, serving as its Publisher and CEO for a time.
Considering his lifelong commitment to liberal political causes, it’s no surprise that Carl was a monthly recurring donor to the Texas Democratic Party.
Carlton Carl passed away on March 25, 2025. In the 18 months since his death, Carl’s monthly donations to the Texas Democratic Party – processed through the controversial payment platform ActBlue – have continued.
According to federal campaign finance records, Carl has made 17 donations to the Texas Democratic Party via ActBlue since his death last year. The donations, each for $50, occurred on the 8th of every month. The most recent reported donation occurred on August 8, 2026.
Despite his prominence in liberal political circles, ActBlue claims that it was unaware that Carl had passed away last year until The Texas Voice brought it to its attention when it reached out for comment about the donations. In a statement, ActBlue did not address what – if any – safeguards it has in place to identify or prevent the processing of donations from the deceased, saying that they rely on others to inform them when a donor had died.
“ActBlue relies on a family member or other authorized person to let us know when someone has passed away, and we have no record that anyone contacted ActBlue to cancel the recurring donations. Once we became aware of the situation, the account was canceled and all contributions made after Mr. Carl’s death were refunded,” ActBlue said in a statement to The Texas Voice.
The Texas Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.
ActBlue’s practices have come under increasing scrutiny from state and federal officials. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against ActBlue in April, alleging that the platform facilitated illegal campaign contributions, including contributions from foreign nationals, and lied to Congress about its internal controls to prevent unlawful or fraudulent political donations.
“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,” said Attorney General Paxton. “ActBlue lied to Congress and to the American people, and I will ensure justice is served. It has blatantly ignored state law that prohibits deceptive practices, and it must pay for its illegal conduct. Fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, and I will work to ensure no illegal campaign donation flies under the radar.”
In June, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Paxton’s lawsuit against ActBlue. Paxton has appealed that ruling, and the appeal is currently pending.
Congressional leaders have also probed ActBlue’s practices, with ActBlue officials repeatedly asserting their Fifth Amendment rights in the proceedings.
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Administration Committee, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a joint interim staff report titled, “Fraud on ActBlue, Part III: ActBlue’s Failure to Prevent Illegal Foreign Political Contributions.”
The report details what the Congressional Committees describe as “ActBlue’s unserious approach to fraud prevention on its platform.”
