Attorney General Ken Paxton Warns Bexar and Harris Counties Against Unlawful Attempts to Send Voter Registration Applications to Unverified Recipients
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to the Bexar and Harris counties commissioners courts warning that their proposed plans to mail voter registration forms to individuals regardless of the eligibility of the recipients would violate the law.
On September 3, 2024, the Bexar County Commissioners Court will consider using taxpayer funds to pay a third-party vendor to print and distribute voter registration forms to unregistered individuals residing in the county. A similar plan has been under consideration by the Harris County Commissioners Court. The distribution of forms to unverified recipients could induce ineligible people—such as felons and noncitizens—to commit a crime by attempting to register to vote. Further, Texas counties have no statutory authority to print and mail state voter registration forms, making the proposal fundamentally illegal.
If the Bexar County Commissioners Court votes to adopt the measure at its meeting tomorrow, Attorney General Paxton will sue to enforce Texas law. Attorney General Paxton will take similar action against Harris County should it choose to follow suit.
“It is unlawful and reckless for counties to use taxpayer dollars to indiscriminately send voter registration forms with no consideration of the recipients’ eligibility and without any statutory authority to do so,” said Attorney General Paxton. “These counties’ attempts to do so after the Biden-Harris Administration has allowed millions of illegal aliens to enter the country are especially troubling.”
The letters further warned: “It is more important than ever that we maintain the integrity of our voter rolls and ensure only eligible voters decide our elections. Your proposal does the opposite by indiscriminately inviting county residents to register to vote regardless of their eligibility. I urge you to abandon this proposal. If you do not, I will see you in court.”
