Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday followed through on his threat to sue Bexar County over a new program that will mail out voter registration forms to unregistered voters.
Bexar County commissioners approved the proposal on Tuesday during a commissioners meeting.
The county will enter into a $392,700 contract agreement with firm Civic Government Solutions to print and mail about 210,000 voter registration application forms to unregistered voters.
Paxton had previously warned that he would sue the county if it approved the proposal.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Ramirez, who put the proposal before commissioners, defended the registration effort from "boogeymen" allegations created by Republicans.
"The AG's interpretation of this is that somehow, we the county, is targeting illegal or potentially illegal voters, which is completely ridiculous and the furthest from the truth, Rodriguez said. "What we looked at are folks that have moved within the county and we've given that direction to the company."
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores spoke in defiance of Paxton on Tuesday.
"The word 'integrity' was used in a statement by the attorney general regarding our voter rolls and [to] ensure only eligible voters can vote. And that's exactly what we are trying to pass today and why I was proud to second it — so we can encourage and make sure Americans exercise their right to vote," she said.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody was the lone vote against the proposal. Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert abstained from voting.
Legal counsel Larry Roberson, the chief of the civil division of the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, told commissioners that Paxton could sue but his legal threats were "misleading."
Paxton officially announced the lawsuit against Bexar County on Wednesday morning. "Despite being warned against adopting this blatantly illegal program that would send taxpayer dollars to mail registration applications to potentially ineligible voters, Bexar County has irresponsibly chosen to violate the law," Paxton wrote in a press release.
He also argued Texas counties have no statutory authority to print and mail state voter registration forms. The lawsuit asked for an injunction to prevent the program from taking effect.
In a statement on Wednesday reacting to Paxton's action, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said that "District Attorney Joe Gonzales today reaffirmed the legal basis and importance of non-partisan efforts to ensure new Bexar County residents can participate in the Bexar County democratic process after completion of the robust verification process required by the Texas Secretary of State."
The statement also included a statement directly from Gonzales: “Voter participation and civic engagement is a direct reflection of a healthy democracy. Yesterday, the Bexar County Commissioners Court made a simple yet profound decision to expand participation in our democratic process in Bexar County by hiring a third-party vendor to perform certain limited, targeted outreach services in a nonpartisan manner. My office will do everything in its power to defend that decision from the attack by Attorney General Ken Paxton and his meritless attempt to stop democracy through the improper use of our court system.”
Paxton also threatened Harris County with a lawsuit over a similar effort to register voters. Harris County Commissioners tabled the proposal last week.
Paxton's lawsuit came just as Texas Democrats called on the Department of Justice to investigate him for possible civil rights violations that may have occurred during his investigations of alleged voter fraud.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar said on a call this week that Paxton’s office is attempting to suppress the Latino vote in the state. "This targeting of the Latino community, in one case a highly contested district," she said, "is part of his political maneuverings to suppress the vote in Texas.”
San Antonio Representative Joaquin Castro added: "If you've been winning elections for 20 plus years statewide, then you don't want new people to vote. You want the same people to vote over and over and over."
The delegation joined the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, in the request for an investigation.
Brian Kirkpatrick and Pablo de la Rosa contributed to this report.
