Texas AG Sues Harris County Clerk Over Racially Targeted Voting Ads
Texas AG accuses Harris County Clerk of racially discriminatory voter outreach via social media ads.
2 min read
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, accusing her office of running racially discriminatory voter suppression ads on Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit claims the county clerk’s office used taxpayer-funded advertisements to target specific racial and ethnic groups through interest tags like “African-American history,” “Latin dance,” and “Asia,” which the state argues constitutes a “racially discriminatory voter suppression scheme.”
According to Meta’s Ad Library, the clerk’s office spent an estimated $43,429 over the past 30 days on a set of these ads. The state alleges that the targeted advertising, which aimed to increase turnout among specific racial and ethnic groups, exceeds the county’s authority and violates the Texas Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment. The lawsuit states that the targeted ads “readily appear” to be an effort to increase voting among certain populations, thereby undermining the principle of equal voting rights.
The Office of the Attorney General Sues Harris County Clerk for Running Racially Discriminatory Voter Suppression Scheme That Could Harm the Integrity of Texas Elections: https://t.co/Gdqsm0wWbX
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and permanent injunction to stop or reconfigure the ads. Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate against Democrat James Talarico, recused himself from the case due to his candidacy.
Rep. Christian Menefee, a Democrat representing part of Harris County, criticized the timing of the lawsuit, claiming it was filed in the final days of early voting because Paxton is “upset” about “diverse voters” making their voices heard. Menefee suggested that Paxton is “unhappy” with the high turnout in neighborhoods like Third Ward, Acres Homes, Cypress, Tidwell, and Sunnyside.
Ken Paxton filed this lawsuit in the final days of voting because he wants to stop Houstonians from going to the polls.
Hudspeth responded by stating that the Harris County Clerk’s Office is committed to providing all qualified voters with accurate and nonpartisan election information. She emphasized that the office’s voter outreach efforts are lawful and that the Meta audience subsets have been deactivated to avoid unnecessary distractions.
The article notes that Harris County has seen an unprecedented early voting turnout, with over 862,659 ballots cast as of Thursday afternoon. The high turnout is seen as favorable for Democrats, with Latino voters also mobilizing in recent months in opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
