Travis County officials have filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accusing him of attempting to stop a program that mails out voter registration forms to residents. The lawsuit is the most recent development in the "voter registration war" between Republican state leaders and local Democrat officials based in Austin, locally referred to as a blue city or an oasis for liberals in the red state.
On Tuesday, County Judge Andy Brown, County Attorney Delia Garza, County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant, and County Commissioner Jeff Travillion held a press conference on National Voter Registration Day to address Paxton's lawsuit and announce their counter lawsuit, according to Austin Monitor coverage.
This morning, we sued Ken Paxton in federal court for violating the National Voting Rights Act https://t.co/rVJgpXr6qX
— Travis County Judge Andy Brown (@TravisCoJudge) September 18, 2024
Paxton filed the lawsuit on Sept. 6, accusing Travis County of unlawfully hiring a firm to identify unregistered eligible voters. He labeled the firm, Civic Government Solutions, as "partisan," arguing that its involvement violates state law and "invites fraud". The lawsuit further argued that the Texas Election Code did not grant county officials the ability to collect information about private citizens to convince them to vote.
In response, Garza filed a federal lawsuit claiming Paxton is the one violating the law. She also moved to transfer Paxton's lawsuit to federal court, aiming to consolidate the cases under one judge and ensure any appeals go through the federal appeals court, bypassing state courts. Garza's suit claims Paxton is selectively targeting voter registration efforts to suppress eligible voters.
"Attorney General Ken Paxton does not want at least some eligible Texans to register to vote," the lawsuit states, accusing Paxton of using his office to intimidate local officials and nonprofits involved in voter registration. The suit also argues that Paxton's actions violate the National Voter Registration Act, which requires Texas to facilitate voter registration efforts.
Elfant, overseeing voter registration in Travis County since 2012, expressed frustration at state leaders focusing on restricting election officials' efforts. "Instead of working to increase participation, our state leaders are focusing on telling us what we can't do," he said.
In an interview with the Texas Tribune, the CEO of Civic Government Solutions, Jeremy Smith, denied Paxton's claims of the company engaging in partisan tactics. "All of our contracts, 100% of them, are nonpartisan. It is written in," Smith said. "We are under restrictions and obligations to prove that and maintain that and provide that data for accountability back to all of our clients."
Paxton has also filed a similar lawsuit against Bexar County, which hired the same firm. A Bexar County judge dismissed the case after voter registration forms were already mailed, but Paxton has since appealed that decision to the newly formed 15th Texas Court of Appeals.
🚨 Today, I filed a notice of appeal on the lawsuit challenging a Bexar County program that unlawfully mailed thousands of unsolicited voter registration applications to unverified recipients.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) September 17, 2024
In a display of bad faith, Bexar County engaged in dirty tricks to avoid appropriate… https://t.co/NjVWQCJ3KD
Harris County has also faced warnings from Paxton against hiring firms to identify potential voters. So far, they have not pursued such efforts.
The deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7.
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