Houston, Harris County, Texas: State Attorney General's Office Sues Harris County Clerk on Oct. 29 Over Voter Ads Allegedly Targeting Asian and Other Ethnic Groups
The Texas Attorney General's Office filed suit in court on October 29 against the Harris County clerk and the communications director of the clerk's office, alleging that voter-awareness advertisements placed by the county elections department on social media violate the Texas Constitution. According to the filing, the Harris County Elections Department ran "Plan. Check. Vote." advertisements on Facebook and Instagram encouraging residents to vote ahead of the November 3 general election, with the ads targeted to African American, Asian and Latino audiences through interest tags such as "African-American history," "Hispanic kitchen" and "Latin dance." The state argues that targeting voter outreach only to certain racial and ethnic groups, and not to others, violates the equal rights protections of the Texas Constitution, and it asks the court for a temporary restraining order immediately deactivating the ads or removing the ethnic targeting criteria.
It also seeks temporary and permanent injunctions barring similar practices.
The filing says the county spent about $43,429 on the ads over the past 30 days. The Attorney General's Office said Attorney General Ken Paxton recused himself from the case because he is a candidate for U.S. Senate in the November 3 midterm election, where he faces Democrat James Talarico. FOX 26 reported it has reached out to the Harris County Clerk's Office for a response. Early voting in Harris County ends Friday, October 30, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Asian American voter organizations remind voters that anyone who runs into difficulty at the polls can call the Asian-language election protection hotline at 888-274-8683 for help.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：哈里斯县1910年法院大楼（休斯顿）。i_am_jim 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Harris County 1910 Courthouse in Houston. Photo: i_am_jim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
