What’s new
Travis County Judge Andy Brown stood before members of the press Sept. 17. He said registering people to vote should not be made a “partisan issue.”
“We stand up for what is right, and I'll continue to fight so that eligible voters in Travis County have the opportunity to participate in the election process, even as the Attorney General works to undermine that right,” Brown said.
Travis County commissioners approved a contract in August with a third-party vendor to mail voter registration forms to unregistered voters.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed the initial lawsuit, claims the vendor, Civic Government Solutions LLC, is a “partisan” organization, adding that using taxpayer dollars for this program is unlawful.
Paxton wrote in a statement that the county’s efforts invited voter fraud by potentially registering non-citizens and individuals with felony convictions.
The attorney general’s office previously removed over one million people from the state’s voter rolls, seeking the removal of people who moved out-of-state, are deceased or are noncitizens, according to an Aug. 26 news release from Gov. Greg Abbott.
That removal process has been, and will continue to be, ongoing, according to the news release.
What they’re saying
Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said the county’s outreach efforts are legal under state and federal law, which cite the action as a “duty,” of local governments. She said Paxton’s actions violate federal law, the National Voter Registration Act Of 1993.
“So what reality are we living in here? Our own attorney general has sued one of its local governments to try to attempt to stop them from registering eligible voters,” Garza said. “... The Texas Attorney General thinks that he is above the law, and Texans can no longer live in this alternate reality.”
There are over 300,000 unregistered voters in Travis County, according to county documents. Ahead of the November election, the Travis County tax office proposed a targeted approach to reach these unregistered voters.
“According to the elections performance index, Texas ranks 29th among states in voter registration and 34th in turnout—such dismal participation in our democratic process,” Bruce Elfant, county tax assessor and voter registrar said. “... Voter registration is kind of like selling a loaf of bread. It takes a bunch of hits to get people's attention. And so we do a lot of things in Travis County to get people's attention... And this mail out is just one more way that we're trying to get people's attention.”
How it would work
Tech company Civic Government Solutions 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. These forms are blank and not prefilled.
States are eligible under NRVA to mail voter registration applications.
These forms are required to include a set of specific information, like the question, ‘Are you a citizen of the United States of America?’ and boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant is or is not a citizen of the United States. Additionally, the question ‘Will you be 18 years of age on or before election day?’ and applicable check boxes.
The form is also required to include the statement, ‘If you checked 'no' in response to either of these questions, do not complete this form.’
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.
One more thing
CGS is bound under its government contract with Travis County to abide by federal and state regulations overseeing voter registration services.
These regulations prohibit:
- Any person who provides voter-registration services at a voter registration agency from seeking to influence an applicant’s political preference or party registration
- Displaying any political preference or party allegiance
- Taking any action or making any statement to an applicant to discourage the applicant from registering to vote
- Taking any action or making any statement that may lead the applicant to believe that a decision to register or not to register has any bearing on the availability of services or benefits
The county followed all the legal procurement procedures, Elfant said, explaining that the county issued a bid for voter outreach services July 19. After a little over a month, CGS was the only bidder and the tax assessor recommended the company be awarded the bid.
Learn more
Texas residents can check their voter registration status at www.votetexas.gov.
Those 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.
Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote ahead of the November 5 election.
