Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sought a temporary restraining order to stop Bexar County’s hired vendor from mailing out unsolicited voter registration forms — but lawyers for the county said Monday morning that it was too late, they’ve already been sent.
Bexar County Commissioners approved a contract with Civic Government Solutions LLC, on Sept. 3 to mail prefilled voter registration applications to 210,000 potential voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 7.
Though the move drew an immediate lawsuit from Paxton, who argued Bexar County didn’t have the authority for such a program, his office never showed up to request a temporary restraining order roughly 10 days ago.
When lawyers for the opposing sides finally went before a judge on Monday morning, Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Robert W. Piatt III, said the letters had already been sent last week.
“Your Honor, no one can be enjoined from the mailing of voter registration applications at issue today because those applications have already been mailed,” Piatt said. “As we speak here today… the target of the mailing — qualified individuals who recently moved to or within Bexar County — have received those forms, and perhaps have already returned them.”
On Monday, the state’s representation filed an updated request roughly three hours ahead of the scheduled hearing asking that no additional letters go out.
Ryan Kercher, Deputy Chief of the Special Litigation Division in the Attorney General’s office, argued Paxton’s side.
“Registering lawful eligible citizens to vote is heartwarming. It is fundamental to democracy. But it matters how we do it,” Kercher said. “If we don’t do it the right way, it may result in the wrong people signing up, whether they intend to or not.”
“It will cause additional work for county workers and for the state, and it may result in people who are not eligible to vote getting signed up to vote,” he continued.
It’s the state’s responsibility to verify voter registration applications, which are returned to the county but screened by the Secretary of State’s office for eligibility.
Kercher tried to call Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen as a witness, but she was not in attendance.
Judge Antonia Arteaga in the 57th Civil District Court twice recessed the hearing for the lawyers to discuss the case, and to call Callanen and summon her to the hearing. She arrived just as it was ending.
Arteaga denied the state’s request, agreeing with the county that there was no reason to issue an injunction since the contract had been completed.
“If there are no further mailings to go out, there really is no more relief that’s necessary,” Arteaga said.
Lawyers for the state left without taking questions.
After the hearing Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai told reporters he was “pleased with the ruling, but this lawsuit is not over.”
He declined to specify what he expects the state to do, but the county’s contract calls for CGS to continue registering new voters in future elections.