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."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!