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

The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Clerk and the Clerk’s Director of Communications for running racially discriminatory advertisements. The Harris County Clerk’s office used Meta’s ad tools to intentionally target its “Get Out the Vote” style ads to certain racial and ethnic groups while avoiding targeting other demographics. 

By classifying based upon race when advertising to provide Harris County voters with election information, the County Clerk’s office exceeded its authority. It engaged in racially discriminatory advertising in an effort to increase voter turnout among particular races and ethnicities, but not others. 

The Office of the Attorney General identified racial discrimination in the County Clerk’s targeting of their “Get Out the Vote” advertisements on Instagram and Facebook. Meta’s platforms allow advertisers to “select the demographics, interests and behaviors of people they want to see their ads.” Publicly available advertising data shows that the County Clerk’s office intentionally directed these ads to certain racial and ethnic groups, but avoided similarly targeting other groups. Meta’s Ad Library shows that the Harris County Clerk’s office spent an estimated $43,429 in the past thirty days on one set of advertisements that it set to be shown preferentially to certain populations. 

Because Attorney General Ken Paxton is a candidate on the November ballot, he has recused himself from the lawsuit. The State of Texas brings this action through the Office of the Attorney General. The State brings this ultra vires suit to ensure that all Texans have an equal opportunity to be informed of and participate in the electoral process, regardless of race or demographic. 

To read the filing, click here.