Federal Judge Blocks Texas From Purging Voter Rolls

SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Texas counties from removing people from voter rolls as part of the state's effort to review citizenship status of tens of thousands of voters, according to reports.

The order by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio directs the secretary of state to advise counties that are not being sued, or have not agreed to refrain from sending "...notices of examination letters," and not remove voters from rolls without the court's approval and proof that a person is not a citizen, the Dallas Morning News and other media outlets reported.

In plain English, the court's action effectively halts the state from purging Texas voter rolls.

Biery didn't mince words in his order, inserting blunt language not typically seen in such officials court documents: "The Court further finds and concludes the Secretary of State, though perhaps unintentionally, created this mess."

Related story: Texas Claims 95K Non-U.S. Citizens Registered To Vote

In a splashy announcement last month designed to raise alarm bells, state officials claimed some 95,000 non-U.S. citizens had been found to have improperly registered to vote and about 58,000 of them cast ballots in elections.

Problem is, the claims are false. In subsequent hearings, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley acknowledged the announcement's claims were not vetted properly and its conclusion was unverified. The since-debunked claims sparked a flurry of litigation to prevent the state's plans to purge voting rolls, particularly at eight Texas counties named in one of three pending lawsuits that were poised to embark on a purging process, as the site Governing reported.

In claiming a prevalence on ineligible voters who were nonetheless registered, Texas Secretary of State Whitley said the assessment was the result of a year-long study of state voter rolls. Upon examination, however, many of the voters classified as being ineligible to vote had registered after having become U.S. citizens.

The claims came against a backdrop of heightened political rhetoric against immigrants marked by vilification of the demographic, widely portrayed with a broad brush, as something of a criminal element. Conservative lawmakers in Texas have long made claims of rampant voter fraud even in the face of multiple longitudinal studies debunking the claim.

To be sure, Attorney General Ken Paxton capitalized on last month's announcement as political currency, vowing to investigate the matter further. He made the promise before the claims were objectively studied and later proven to be false.

"Nothing is more vital to preserving our Constitution than the integrity of our voting process, and my office will do everything within its abilities to solidify trust in every election in the state of Texas," Paxton said at the time of the announcement purporting to have identified ineligible voters.

Whitley made similar law-and-order pronouncements: "Integrity and efficiency of elections in Texas require accuracy of our state's voter rolls, and my office is committed to using all available tools under the law to maintain an accurate list of registered voters," Whitley said in a prepared statement. "Our agency has provided extensive training opportunities to county voter registrars so that they can properly perform list maintenance activities in accordance with federal and state law, which affords every registered voter the chance to submit proof of eligibility."

Whitley later apologized for having issued the unverified claims, acknowledging the deeply flawed nature of his original review. Yet even while apologizing for the false data focused on naturalized citizens in Texas, he defended the effort as a "legally sound exercise," the Texas Tribune reported.

“After close consultation with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the counties, and members of the Texas Legislature, I have discovered that additional refining of the data my office provides to county voter registrars, both in substance and in timing, is necessary to ensure a more accurate and efficient list maintenance process,” Whitley wrote in the letter to state lawmakers obtained by the Tribune.

As a result of the bungled review, Whitley now faces an uncertain path to being confirmed by lawmakers to retain his seat. On Monday, the Tribune reported that all 12 Democrats in the Texas Senate have publicly confirmed their opposition to confirm Whitley — more than enough votes to potentially block his nomination. Whitley previously endured a brutal public hearing during which he was questioned on the process that led to the false claims about the state's voter rolls.

In a recent statement, State Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat from Houston, exemplified the ensuing backlash: “The duties acting Secretary Whitley was appointed to as the Chief Elections Officer requires a high level of discretion in protecting the integrity of our voters in Texas. “Unfortunately, through his actions and those of his office acting Secretary Whitley failed to uphold the expectations of his position. I cannot in good conscience approve a nominee who, contrary to the responsibilities of their position, has caused turmoil and fear among many Texas voters.”

Many Texas residents during the hearing testified about their anxiety at receiving correspondence from Whitley's office alerting their voter registration status was set to be investigated amid the planned purge. To a person, each voter testifying about receiving such notices was legally allowed to case ballots in Texas elections, despite the secretary of state's accusations to the contrary.

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