In a nutshell
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed the lawsuit, claims the company, Civic Government Solutions LLC, is a “partisan” organization, adding that using taxpayer dollars for this program is unlawful.
Travis County commissioners approved a one-time, $500,000 contract with CGS Aug. 27.
“Travis County has blatantly violated Texas law by paying partisan actors to conduct unlawful identification efforts to track down people who are not registered to vote,” said Paxton in a news release. “Programs like this invite fraud and reduce public trust in our elections."
The lawsuit filing states the company’s CEO Jeremy Smith made prior public comments on a podcast in 2022 expressing his interest in getting people to vote for progressive candidates.
On the other side
County officials responded to the lawsuit citing the county’s responsibility to democracy.
“Travis County is committed to encouraging voter participation and we are proud of our outreach efforts that achieve higher voter registration numbers,” Travis County spokesperson Hector Nieto said in a statement Sept. 6. “We remain steadfast in our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the voter registration process while ensuring that every eligible person has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. It is disappointing that any statewide elected official would prefer to sow distrust and discourage participation in the electoral process.”
Texas is only one of eight states that does not allow online voter registration, automatic registration, registration during driver’s license renewals or same-day voter registration, according to county documents.
An Aug. 21 memo from the county staff to commissioners argued that this process is “labor-intensive” and complex, especially within a county that has a highly transient population of students.
There are over 300,000 unregistered voters in Travis County, the memo states.
The Travis County tax office proposed a more targeted approach focused on new residents “to enhance voter participation and strengthen the democratic process in Travis County.”
The department also noted that it was not feasible to attempt this project in-house.
The CGS proposal said its services would result in additional registered voters. The company promised an 85% voter turnout of these newly registered voters. County staff will measure these numbers to determine whether the services should be continued, according to county documents.
How it would work
The tech company utilizes U.S. postal service data to identify voting-eligible, new Travis County residents who are not currently registered to vote. This information is then shared with the county.
From there, the county prints and mails voter registration forms to these individuals.
No sensitive information, like driver's license numbers or social security numbers, from Travis County’s voter rolls will be used, collected, maintained or shared in this service.
What else?
Paxton also filed a lawsuit against Bexar County, which encompasses the San Antonio metro, who also recently approved a contract with CGS to increase voter-registration.
Harris County Commissioners originally approved a pilot program Aug. 6 to increase voter registration in the county; however, county officials have since tabled the program after receiving a letter from the attorney general warning them against implementing a new voter registration program.
The lawsuits follow other statewide actions that removed over one million people from the state’s voter rolls, with a goal of removing people who moved out-of-state, are deceased or are noncitizens, according to an Aug. 26 news release from Governor Greg Abbott.
That removal process has been, and will continue to be, ongoing, according to the news release.
Learn more
Texas residents who are eligible and interested in registering to vote can do so the following ways:
- Fill out and mail the online application
- Visit any Travis County Tax Office
- Request an application from the Texas Secretary of State
- Pick up an application at any Austin-area Public Library, U.S. Postal Service office or state office locations for the departments of public safety and health and human services located in Travis County
For voter address or name changes, individuals can update their voter registration online. When moving to a new county, previous Travis County voter registration will be canceled. Residents are encouraged to cancel their Travis County voter registration in the event that they move out of state.
