BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — Bexar County commissioners approved a measure Tuesday to get thousands of people registered to vote via mailers—a proposal which, now that it's been green-lit, could draw a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Resolution 66 calls for paying the company Civic Government Solutions to print and mail out voter registration forms. The forms would be sent out along with postage paid return envelopes "to unregistered voters in location(s) based on targeting agreed to by the county."
In a letter to commissioners Monday, Paxton threatened to sue Bexar County if the measure passed, saying it would cause confusion if the materials were sent to those not eligible to vote. He followed through with those threats and said Wednesday he is now suing Bexar County.
"At worst, it may induce the commission of a crime by encourage individuals who are ineligible to vote to provide false information on the form," Paxton said in the letter. "Either way, it is illegal, and if you move forward with this proposal, I will use all available legal means to stop you."
In order to be eligible to vote in Texas, residents must be a U.S. citizen; live in the county where they applied to register to vote; and be at least 18 years old on Election Day. Convicted felons aren't allowed to vote until they have completed their sentence and any probation periods, nor can those deemed by a court to be mentally incapacitated register.
The measure is expected to cost $591,122, according to the county. Dozens of people spoke out against the measure at Tuesday's Commissioners Court meeting, calling it "a partisan project."
“I think it’s a deceptive scheme," said Kyle Sinclair, vice chair of the Bexar County GOP. “I don’t think anybody is disproving or saying that there’s not a registration problem. All we’re simply saying is you cannot and should not be involved from taxpayer funds.”
Jeremy Smith, co-founder and CEO of Civic Government Solutions, stressed his progressive political views will not conflict with the company's mission to boost voter turnout.
“In its bylaws it is nonpartisan, in its mission it is nonpartisan," Smith said. “We’ve registered hundreds of thousands of people in Bexar County before. We expect about 90,000 new people to sign up to register and we expect it to about 70,000 additional votes in the county just for this year.”
Ultimately, the commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the action. County Judge Peter Sakai, along with commissioners Rebeca Clay-Flores and Justin Rodriguez, OK'd the measure while Commissioner Grant Moody rejected it. Commissioner Tommy Calvert abstained from the vote.
“We are accepting the fact that if we go forward with this item today, this county will face a lawsuit almost certainly," Moody said.
It isn't clear which areas of the county the measure would target, or who exactly would receive the forms. The agenda items says the action would be an exemption to the Texas County Purchasing Act, which requires county governments to engage in a competitive bidding process for expenditures of more than $50,000.
“This is a nonpartisan way to increase voter turnout in the 2024 election," Sakai said.
See the full text of resolution 66 from the Commissioners Court agenda below:
66. Discussion and appropriate action regarding granting a discretionary exemption to the competitive bidding requirements set forth in the Texas County Purchasing Act for the 2 purpose of awarding a purchase order to Civic Government Solutions, LLC to print and mail State Voter Registration Forms, with postage paid return envelopes, to unregistered voters in location(s) based on targeting agreed to by the County, to include data and reporting in the amount of $392,700, on a discretionary exemption basis, in accordance with Texas Local Government Code § 262.024(7)(a), as requested by Commissioners Court; and authorizing the Purchasing Agent to execute contract and file the appropriate award documents for record.
