Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a legal ruling in response to a request for records under the Public Information Act, emphasizing that governmental entities must redact any personally identifiable information on voters’ ballots when such requests are made.
In Texas, voters have an absolute constitutional right to ballot secrecy. Public information laws generally permit governmental entities to redact “information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision.” Attorney General Paxton has consistently advised governmental entities that any disclosure of election records containing personally identifiable information must preserve voter privacy.
In August 2022, Attorney General Paxton issued a formal legal opinion stating, “Any personally identifiable information contained in election records that could tie a voter’s identity to their specific voting selections must be redacted.” The Texas Legislature codified this guidance into law in 2023. In May 2024, Attorney General Paxton reiterated this requirement in another formal legal opinion, noting that such redactions are necessary “to protect the constitutional right to a secret ballot in Texas.”
In his most recent ruling, Attorney General Paxton reminded county officials that the “requirement of secrecy is mandatory” and emphasized that “election records custodians must redact such personally identifiable information.”
The responsibility lies with counties to ensure the pertinent information is redacted to maintain ballot secrecy as they have been repeatedly instructed.
To read the ruling, click here.