Legal advocacy group sues Texas officials over voter purge

A signs reading 'Vote Here' is seen at a polling location, Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in Conroe. A signs reading 'Vote Here' is seen at a polling location, Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in Conroe. Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Legal advocacy group sues Texas officials over voter purge 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An advocacy group alleged in a lawsuit Friday that three top state officials conspired to violate thousands of foreign-born citizens' voting rights when they advised counties to review the citizenship status of suspected non-citizen voters.

The federal lawsuit, filed in Corpus Christi by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, names Secretary of State David Whitley, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton as defendants. It contends that Whitley, in questioning the status of more than 95,000 registered Texas voters, singled out naturalized citizens because they were born outside the country.

Soon after Whitley sent out a Jan. 25 advisory in which he flagged registered voters who had indicated in driver license records they were not citizens, county officials discovered that the list contained thousands of citizens.

Whitley acknowledged the errors but his office has not withdrawn the list, MALDEF noted.

MORE FROM HOUSTON CHRONICLE: County officials removing thousands of names from state's list of potentially ineligible voters

The lawsuit seeks an injunction that would revoke the state's list until it proves the voters are ineligible to vote, and bar Whitley's office from probing citizens who were recently naturalized.

MALDEF's complaint claims that the state's actions violate the federal Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.

Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF's president and general counsel, cast the episode as further evidence of the state's "aggressive efforts to target legitimate voters and to deter or suppress their participation."

"Targeting naturalized citizens is particularly perverse given the high level of participation in voting and civic engagement among those who chose to become United States citizens," Saenz said in a statement.

Also named as a defendant is Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Johnson, who mailed letters to people earlier this week seeking citizenship verification.

Abbott on Thursday noted that Whitley, whom he appointed in December, had made clear that the list contained "weak" matches. State and local election officials should work "swiftly together to make sure our voter rolls are accurate to ensure integrity in the election process," Abbott said.