Travis County Sues Texas Officials Over Voter Registration Dispute
Travis County officials have filed a federal lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson, challenging the state’s efforts to impede voter registration ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
The lawsuit intensifies the ongoing conflict between Republican state leaders and Democratic urban counties over voter registration initiatives. The legal action alleges that Texas officials are in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. This development comes as the October 7 voter registration deadline approaches.
“Today, Travis County, once again, fights back,” said Travis County Attorney Delia Garza during a press conference on Tuesday.
Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
State vs. County Legal Battle
The federal lawsuit is a reaction to Paxton’s effort in state courts to prevent Travis County from mailing voter registration applications to eligible but unregistered voters. Travis County, which includes Austin, has been a Democratic stronghold.
Paxton’s lawsuit claims that the Texas Election Code does not authorize county officials to gather information about private citizens to encourage them to vote, labeling the effort as illegal. However, Democrats and local leaders, along with election experts, dispute Paxton’s interpretation.
In various interviews and social media posts, Paxton has propagated false claims suggesting that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have allowed undocumented immigrants into the country to secure Democratic votes. Former President Donald Trump has echoed similar allegations.
Paxton argues that mailing voter registration applications could result in ineligible voters signing up. These applications are returned to county offices and undergo eligibility verification, which is also cross-checked by the Secretary of State’s Office.
“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,” said Paxton in a statement earlier this month. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections. We will stop them and any other county considering such programs.”
Contested Efforts for Voter Registration
Jeremy Smith, CEO of Civic Government Solutions, the company hired by Travis County to identify unregistered voters, denied any partisan bias in their operations. “All of our contracts, 100% of them, are nonpartisan. It is written in,” Smith explained. “We are under restrictions and obligations to prove that and maintain that and provide that data for accountability back to all of our clients.”
Garza stated that the new legal filings move Paxton’s state lawsuit to federal court, seeking authorization to continue mailing voter registration applications. This filing followed a judge’s decision to deny Paxton’s request to stop Bexar County from sending out voter registration applications. The court ruled against Paxton, noting that Bexar County had already mailed the forms. Bexar County, like Travis County, leans Democratic.
Travis officials accuse Paxton of breaching Title 52 of the Voting Rights Act by obstructing their voter registration efforts and criticize Nelson for not intervening. They argue that state law not only permits but encourages them to send out registration applications.
Nelson’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Garza highlighted a provision in state law that allows local governments to be reimbursed for mailing voter registration applications. “Travis County was going about its business serving the citizens of our community and dutifully complying with federal and state election laws,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown.
This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune
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