In a bold move, Bexar County officials decided to continue with plans to send voter registration applications to unregistered residents, despite facing legal threats from the Texas attorney general’s office. The Commissioners Court voted 3-1 to approve a $393,000 contract with Civic Government Solutions, which specializes in identifying unregistered voters and facilitating the registration process, as reported by The Texas Tribune.
This initiative has sparked significant backlash from Republican officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. On Monday, Paxton warned Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, that he would pursue legal action if the registration drive went ahead. He claimed that the partnership with Civic Government Solutions oversteps Bexar County’s authority and could potentially lead to fraud by encouraging ineligible individuals to fill out voter registration forms.
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Paxton expressed further concerns, stating that the current election cycle heightens the need for stringent voter roll integrity due to fears surrounding election security and rising noncitizen populations. He criticized the proposal for potentially inviting ineligible residents to register.
However, Larry Roberson, head of the civil division at Bexar County’s district attorney’s office, deemed Paxton’s legal threats unfounded, insisting that the attorney general’s claims were misleading. Meanwhile, Jeremy Smith, CEO of Civic Government Solutions, emphasized that their outreach is nonpartisan, despite any personal political preferences.
Republicans nationwide are moving to bolster election security ahead of the upcoming elections. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently announced that over 1.1 million ineligible voters had been removed from the rolls—something some Democrats fear may intimidate voters close to Election Day. Harris County Democratic Party chair Mike Doyle pointed out that these measures may seem like a move to discourage voter participation.
In related news, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin reinforced election security by mandating that all votes in the 2024 presidential election be cast via paper ballot, a decision lauded by former President Donald Trump, who continues to assert that the 2020 election faced fraud. Furthermore, Congressional Republicans are promoting the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for federal voting—an initiative that Democrats argue could disenfranchise voters. President Biden has indicated he would veto this bill, highlighting that its justifications are based on disproven claims.