Texas sues state’s largest county for ads encouraging minority voters

The Texas Attorney General’s Office sued Harris County Thursday, accusing the state’s largest county of running a racially discriminatory “Get out the Vote” advertising campaign on social media targeted solely at minority voters. 

Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is on the ballot in a highly competitive U.S. Senate race, recused himself from the lawsuit, according to his office’s press release.  

The lawsuit is an attack on efforts to encourage historically underrepresented minority groups to exercise their right to vote.

Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin (D) said in a statement that her office is reviewing the “politically motivated lawsuit.”

“We believe the County’s efforts to ensure all voters in our diverse county have access to voter-information are legal, and do not want a pathetic political distraction by Ken Paxton to take away from election operations,” Kamin said. “Harris County remains hyper focused on ensuring every eligible voter’s voice is heard and their votes protected, not sideshows that appease grandstanding.”

Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX), who represents parts of Harris County, said in a statement that the lawsuit was filed because Paxton “is upset that diverse voters across Harris County are making their voices heard.”

“Remember this: someone with as much power as the Texas Attorney General would only take desperate action like this lawsuit because he is scared,” Menefee said. “I hope everyone in Harris County who is eligible to vote sees this lawsuit for what it is, and goes to cast their ballot in this election.”

Paxton’s office is seeking a temporary restraining order to block the county from continuing to run the ads, which were aimed at Latino, Asian and African-American voters but not white voters, according to the lawsuit. The complaint accuses Harris County of using Meta’s ad tools to intentionally target racial and ethnic minority users on Facebook and Instagram in violation of the Texas Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment.

“By specifically directing voting advertisements to these and many other racial or ethnic ‘detailed targeting’ terms, it is readily apparent that Harris County is attempting to increase the likelihood that only certain racial and ethnic groups — but not all — will vote,” the complaint stated.

The complaint went on to argue that “there can be no legitimate reason for Harris County to intentionally target voter advertisements toward this peculiar assortment of African-American, Asian, and Latino ethnicities, cultural interests, and countries, but not toward any European ethnicities, cultural interests, or countries.”