A Representative from the Texas Attorney General’s office appeared in court Monday to argue that the State should not be held responsible in the lawsuit by the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) against the Starr County Elections Administrator.
Assistant Attorney General Adam Bitter said the office was contacted by the ACRU about the case and proceeded to submit a brief arguing that, in this case, the State did not have the authority to ensure that Starr County maintain proper Voter lists.
However, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa appeared confused as to why the Attorney General’s office had gotten involved and said it was the Texas Secretary of State that should be held responsible. “I really don’t understand why you refuse to bring in the proper party,” Hinojosa told the Attorneys representing the ACRU.
Since the beginning of the case, Hinojosa said the Texas Secretary of State was the proper party of the lawsuit, and the requirement for the Secretary of State to keep an official Statewide Voter list indicated that they were responsible to ensure that all voter rolls across the State were accurate. The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), as a Federal statute, Hinojosa said, was meant to ensure States adhere to a certain standard. He also pointed out that when there is a violation, the Statewide Representative should be notified.
ACRU Attorney Christopher Coates said that the Secretary of State’s office was given a copy of the notification letter that was sent to Starr County, but Hinojosa didn’t believe that was enough. “The whole scheme of the statute is that the states should be involved,” he said.
Hinojosa suggested that bringing one lawsuit against the Secretary of State would be more proper and efficient than possibly suing every individual County.
However, Coates repeatedly argued the responsibility lies with individual Counties and holding one State responsible would make the other States fall in line.
Starr County is the third County that the ACRU has sued in Texas and Coates said there may be 20 more that may be in violation.
The suit, filed in March against Starr County Elections Administrator Rafael Montalvo, accuses the County of violating Section 8 of the National Voting Rights Act for allegedly having more Registered voters than Eligible voters in the County.
Hinojosa questioned whether census data could be relied upon and also why they appeared to focus on Counties with high Hispanic populations.
Coates insisted their focus was not on Hispanic populations but rather on those they believe to have over 100% Voter registration.
The judge agreed on the importance of keeping accurate Voter rolls and adhering to the NVRA but believed the ACRU was going about it the wrong way.
The court will issue a decision next week.
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