Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a notice of appeal to continue an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) lawsuit challenging a Bexar County program that mailed thousands of unsolicited voter registration applications to unverified recipients.
On September 2, Attorney General Paxton warned the Bexar County Commissioners Court that its proposed plan to employ a third-party vendor to mail voter registration forms to individuals regardless of their eligibility would violate the law. Despite this warning, Bexar County approved the program the next day over the objection of its own voter registrar. Paxton immediately sued and attempted to schedule a hearing on a motion for a temporary restraining order with Bexar County attorneys. However, Bexar County claimed it needed more time to prepare for litigation and agreed to a consolidated preliminary hearing on September 16.
On the Friday before the rescheduled hearing, Bexar County filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, revealing they had been acting in secret to expedite the mass mailouts. Since the unsolicited voter registration forms had already been distributed regardless of contract legality or recipient eligibility, the judge dismissed the State’s motion as moot. The OAG is appealing this ruling and will continue seeking appropriate remedies.
“In a display of bad faith, Bexar County engaged in dirty tricks to avoid appropriate judicial review of a clearly unlawful program that invites voter fraud,” said Attorney General Paxton. “These actions demonstrate that Bexar County knew what they were doing was wrong, yet expedited the mailout of unsolicited registration forms before the issue could be argued in court. I will fight every step of the way to hold them accountable and uphold the integrity of our elections."
To read the notice of appeal, click here.