Texas AG Sues Harris County Over Targeted Voting Ads

A lawsuit filed in Harris County District Court claims that targeted social media ads encouraging Black and Latino residents to vote constitute reverse racism. The suit, brought by the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeks to block a campaign that Harris County election officials launched in late September. The legal action argues that directing advertisements to specific racial and ethnic groups is an unconstitutional attempt to increase turnout among certain populations while excluding others.

The complaint identifies specific digital tags used in the ad campaign as evidence of bias. These tags included interests in African American literature, Latin music, and Hispanic cuisine. The ads also targeted users based on connections to East Asia, 27 distinct countries, and foreign cities such as Bangkok. The lawsuit states that these specific targeting terms make it apparent that the county intended to boost the likelihood that only certain racial and ethnic groups would vote.

Harris County is one of the most diverse counties in Texas according to U.S. Census data. The ads urged voters to create a plan to vote. The petition argues that the Harris County clerk’s office acted unconstitutionally by prioritizing these specific ethnicities and cultural interests. The lawsuit requests a court order to pull the ads or reconfigure them to remove all tags targeting Black, Asian, and Latino voters.

Harris County stopped running the advertisements on Thursday. The parties reached an interim agreement on Friday to pause the ads until after Election Day. Both sides treated this temporary halt as a legal victory for their respective positions. The pause means the specific digital targeting will not be active during the voting period.

Ken Paxton is currently the Republican nominee for the contested U.S. Senate seat in Texas. He has recused himself from the lawsuit despite serving as the state’s attorney general. Interim Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin described the suit as a thinly veiled political stunt. Kamin stated that the agreement ensures the Attorney General’s claims do not take away time and resources from critical county operations.

The interim agreement resolves the immediate conflict over the ad placement. The county will not run the targeted campaigns during the election window. The lawsuit remains pending in Harris County District Court. The next steps in the legal process will occur after voters cast their ballots.