Still a crook any way you look
Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sought a temporary restraining order to stop Bexar County’s hired vendor from mailing out unsolicited voter registration forms — but lawyers for the county said Monday morning that it was too late, they’ve already been sent.
Bexar County Commissioners approved a contract with Civic Government Solutions LLC, on Sept. 3 to mail prefilled voter registration applications to 210,000 potential voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The voter registration deadline for that election is Oct. 7.
Though the move drew an immediate lawsuit from Paxton, who argued Bexar County didn’t have the authority for such a program, his office never showed up to request a temporary restraining order roughly 10 days ago.
When lawyers for the opposing sides finally went before a judge on Monday morning, Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Robert W. Piatt III, said the letters had already been sent last week.
“Your Honor, no one can be enjoined from the mailing of voter registration applications at issue today because those applications have already been mailed,” Piatt said. “As we speak here today… the target of the mailing — qualified individuals who recently moved to or within Bexar County — have received those forms, and perhaps have already returned them.”
On Monday, the state’s representation filed an updated request roughly three hours ahead of the scheduled hearing asking that no additional letters go out.
[…]
Judge Antonia Arteaga in the 57th Civil District Court twice recessed the hearing for the lawyers to discuss the case, and to call [Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque] Callanen and summon her to the hearing. She arrived just as it was ending.
Arteaga denied the state’s request, agreeing with the county that there was no reason to issue an injunction since the contract had been completed.
“If there are no further mailings to go out, there really is no more relief that’s necessary,” Arteaga said.
See here and here for the background. I’ve never thought much of Ken Paxton’s lawyering – he does well when in front of a handmaiden judge or panel of justices, as anyone would, but has never achieved a truly big win in front of a more neutral court – but I usually credited him with being able to turn his homework in on time. This is just embarrassing, a total unforced error that any first-year law student ought to be able to avoid. I can’t stop laughing.
I suppose there could be some legal shenanigans later in the process related to this, like challenging particular votes or groups of voters. While I’ve no doubt that Paxton still has plenty of dirty tricks in his bag, I can’t borrow trouble and worry about the what-ifs now. He’s gonna do what he’s gonna do, so let’s enjoy it when he screws up. Hey, Travis County, did you send your stuff out before Paxton could get off his butt, too? I sure hope so. The Trib has more.
Too bad Harris County didn’t do the same thing.
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