Harris County agrees to stop discriminatory ads, convicted felons arrested for voting

Because Attorney General Ken Paxton is a candidate on the Nov. 3 ballot, he recused himself from the lawsuit. 

The OAG sued on behalf of Texas, alleging the county purchased voter awareness advertisements on Meta platforms that violate the Texas Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment and state law. The ads “intentionally target certain racial and ethnic groups (African American, Asian, and South American or Latino groups)” and not other demographics, The Center Square reported. 

According to U.S. Census data, 20.5% of Harris County residents are Black; 46% are Hispanic; nearly 25% are white; 8% are Asian.  

The ads and “detailed targeting” terms on Meta’s advertising platform indicate that “Harris County is attempting to increase the likelihood that only certain racial and ethnic groups – but not all – will vote,” the lawsuit alleged. 

The county agreed to stop running them in a settlement agreement with the OAG. The county is also prohibited from reactivating the ads, the OAG said in an announcement.   

The OAG also announced its Election Integrity Unit has arrested convicted felons on charges of illegally voting in Harris County. 

The arrests came after the office received a tip. 

On Oct. 27, a concerned citizen filed a complaint with the OAG EIU stating that convicted felons who were incarcerated, on parole, or on probation had voted in Harris County. The citizen also provided open-source information to support the allegation.  

The OAG EIU analysts launched an investigation into potential violations of the Texas Election Code.  

The investigators verified the voters’ identities, reviewed their voter registration records and determined when and where they voted during the early voting period, which ended Oct. 30. 

They identified an undisclosed number and referred them to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to verify their status. 

“So far, TDCJ has confirmed that multiple individuals were on parole when they cast their ballots, rendering them ineligible to vote under Texas law,” the OAG said in a statement.

On Oct. 30, arrest warrants were issued in Montgomery County for several individuals identified in the investigation. As of Saturday, the OAG had arrested them and not made their identities public, it said in a statement. 

The OAG is continuing to investigate additional allegations of illegal voting and says it “remains committed to ensuring that Texas elections are free and fair.”

Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected violations of Texas election law through an OAG EIU email tipline: illegalvoting@oag.texas.gov.

The OAG has also published information about voting to protect election integrity.