Texas judge dismisses Paxton lawsuit against Bexar County

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has appealed a district judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit he filed against Bexar County's mailed-out voter registration plan – a program the county allegedly “expedited” before court proceedings.

Paxton issued a written warning to Bexar County on September 2 threatening to use “all available legal means” if it proceeded with hiring a third-party company to mail out unsolicited voter registration forms. The contract would cost the county $392,000.

The following day, the Bexar County Commissioners Court voted to continue with its proposal allocating taxpayer funds for Civic Government Solutions to print and distribute “thousands” of voter registration forms “to unregistered voters in location(s) based on targeting agreed to by the county,” ultimately defying Paxton’s warning.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) sued Bexar County on September 4, stating, “Bexar County has irresponsibly chosen to violate the law. This program is completely unlawful and potentially invites election fraud.”

The filing sought emergency injunctive relief against the county’s actions, which the lawsuit alleged would “create confusion, facilitate fraud, and undermine confidence in elections.”

Bexar County then agreed to a hearing on the OAG’s motion for a temporary restraining order against the county’s voter registration plan, but it requested to not convene until September 16. The OAG said the county cited a need for “more time to prepare for litigation.”

In what Paxton later called a “display of bad faith,” Bexar County then filed to dismiss his lawsuit, three days before the scheduled hearing.

“Bexar County engaged in dirty tricks to avoid appropriate judicial review of a clearly unlawful program that invites voter fraud,” Paxton said in a press release.

When the county sought to dismiss Paxton’s lawsuit, he wrote, it was “revealed” that it had been “acting in secret” to expedite the “mass mail outs” before litigation could proceed. 

The judge, Antonia Arteaga, determined Paxton’s motion was moot as Bexar County’s voter registration forms had been distributed; Paxton asserted this was done despite the contract’s unconfirmed legality and the unknown voting eligibility of recipients. 

Paxton appealed the judge’s ruling to the 15th Court of Appeals on Monday and added he will “continue seeking appropriate remedies.”

The 15th Court of Appeals was created last year by the Texas Legislature — a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott — to take up cases involving the State of Texas and to avoid the antagonistic 3rd Court of Appeals. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the new court’s constitutionality back in August and the court became operational on September 1.

“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,” Paxton said.