Travis County sues top Texas officials, accusing them of violating National Voter Registration Act

Travis County officials sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Tuesday over the state’s attempt to block voter registration efforts ahead of a hotly contested presidential election.

The new federal lawsuit escalates a pre-election war between Republican state officials and Democratic urban county leaders over voter registration efforts and accuses Texas officials of violating the National Voter Registration Act. Developments in the ongoing battle continue unfolding as the Oct. 7 deadline to sign up to vote looms.

“Today, Travis County, once again, fights back,” Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said during a press conference Tuesday.

Paxton’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The federal suit is in response to Paxton turning to state courts to try and block the county from mailing out voter registration applications to people identified as eligible voters who aren’t currently on the rolls. Travis County is home to Austin and has long been a Democratic stronghold in the state.

Paxton’s lawsuit argued that the Texas Election Code did not grant a county officials the ability to collect information about private citizens to convince them to vote and claimed that such an effort is illegal. But Democrats, local leaders and election experts disagree with Paxton’s interpretation of state law.

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