210,000 unsolicited voter registration applications sent out in Democrat Texas county in defiance of AG Paxton



Hundreds of thousands of residents in the San Antonio area may have received voter registration applications this month without asking for them after county leaders approved a mass mailing in defiance of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

On September 2, Paxton sent a letter to Bexar County — a heavily Democratic region of Texas where San Antonio is located — demanding that officials there strongly reconsider sending out the applications. In the letter, Paxton expressed concerns that such an unsolicited application "potentially confuses residents" about their eligibility to vote and may even convince some unscrupulous ineligible residents to circumvent state and federal law and "provide false information" that would allow them to register to vote.

'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.'

"Either way, it is illegal, and if you move forward with this proposal, I will use all available legal means to stop you," Paxton warned.

The warning apparently fell on deaf ears.

On September 3, the commissioners court in Bexar County voted 3-1-1 in favor of sending out approximately 210,000 voter registration applications. The voter registrar gave the lone "no" vote.

WOAI indicated that only "eligible" residents of Bexar County would receive the applications, though the outlet did not clarify how such unregistered "eligible" voters had been identified.

County officials did not mail out the applications themselves but instead shelled out nearly $400,000 to have Civic Government Solutions do so on their behalf.

Civic Government Solutions is a self-described "nonpartisan company," though domain information associated with its website, civicgs.com, appears to be directly linked to Civitech, according to Texas Scorecard. On its website, Civitech brags that it is a political outreach company "trusted by Democratic and progressive leaders."

Paxton filed suit against Bexar County the following day, and his attorneys argued in court that county officials lacked the authority to approve the mass mailings and that they failed to consider competitive bids from other organizations besides Civic Government Solutions.

At a hearing on Monday, Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Robert Piatt noted that "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."

Judge Antonia Arteaga was apparently persuaded by the defense's case, ruling that Paxton's lawsuit was moot since the applications had already been sent.

"Our position from the very beginning was that the commissioners had every right to do what they did, and we are very pleased with the judge’s ruling today," said Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, according to CNN.

Gonzales also indicated that Paxton's attorneys had not shown up for a previous hearing about the issue, prompting Bexar County to proceed with the mailings.

A spokesperson for Paxton confirmed to Blaze News that the attorney general has already filed an appeal of Judge Arteaga's ruling.

"In a display of bad faith, Bexar County engaged in dirty tricks to avoid appropriate judicial review of a clearly unlawful program that invites voter fraud," Paxton said in a statement. "These actions demonstrate that Bexar County knew what they were doing was wrong, yet expedited the mailout of unsolicited registration forms before the issue could be argued in court. I will fight every step of the way to hold them accountable."

Paxton has filed a similar lawsuit against Travis County, home of the capital city of Austin. Harris County, where Houston is located, considered sending out voter registration applications en masse but ultimately decided against it.

In response to Blaze News' request for comment, marketing Vice President Tracy Davis denied that Civic Government Solutions had partnered with any partisan group. She also described the controversy surrounding the mass mailing "concerning."

"At Civic Government Solutions, we are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has the opportunity to register — an essential investment in the future of our state and nation. As a nonpartisan company, our focus is solely on identifying and assisting unregistered individuals. We do not use demographic, political, or any other criteria; we simply segment eligible records based on county and registration status," Davis said.

In response to Blaze News' question about a possible connection between Civic Government Solutions and Civitech, Davis said: "CGS is a subsidiary of Civitech, but has its own bylaws, operating procedures, etc."

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Migrants File Class Action Lawsuit In Federal Court Against DeSantis

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Texas Supreme Court temporarily reinstates Abbott's ban on mask mandates



The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton, temporarily blocking San Antonio and Bexar County from implementing a mask mandate.

At the request of Abbott and Paxton, the court granted a stay on the injunction issued by a lower court that permitted the mask mandate to move forward despite the governor's executive order banning public entities from implementing such requirements, KSAT-TV reports.

"The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the law, and the decision to enforce mask mandates lies with the governor's legislatively-granted authority," Paxton said in a statement praising the decision. "Mask mandates across our state are illegal, and judges must abide by the law. Further non-compliance will result in more lawsuits."

However, the matter is not concluded. The state supreme court must now review the case before deciding whether Abbott's order was legal.

"While I am personally disappointed in the order handed down today by the Texas Supreme Court, I will continue to do all that I can to fight for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Bexar County," Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said. "We are continuing to work with the City of San Antonio to determine the next steps in light of the order issued today."

Earlier in August, Bexar County sued the Abbott administration, arguing the governor overstepped his bounds by barring local governments, schools, and other public entities from issuing mask requirements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. District Court Judge Toni Arteaga, ruling in favor of the county, issued an injunction against Abbott's order, saying that schoolchildren were vulnerable given a recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Bexar County.

Abbott and Paxton appealed the case to the state supreme court after the Fourth Court of Appeals upheld the injunction last week on Aug. 19.

The County's lawyers have argued that the governor's executive orders contradict Texas Health and Safety Code, which gives local health officials the power to enact restrictions including mask requirements for public health reasons.

The governor's administration counters that the governor has the authority to issue a prohibition on mask mandates under the Texas Disaster Act. The administration further argues that localized mask mandates are adding to "statewide confusion arising from the multiple, conflicting orders that courts at all levels of the judiciary have issued in the past several weeks."

Aside from Bexar County at large, several local San Antionio area school districts have enacted their own mask requirements in violation of Abbott's order, which according to KSAT-TV could remain in effect until they are challenged in court as well.