Texas Reaches Settlement Requiring Harris County Clerk to Remove Election Ads That Used Race-Based Targeting
On the eve of Election Day, the state of Texas has secured an agreement requiring the Harris County Clerk's Office to remove its election advertisements that used race-based targeting settings - and not to reactivate them during the election period, the Attorney General's office announced. Attorney General Ken Paxton recused himself from the case because he is a candidate on the November ballot; Rep. Christian Menefee had called the suit a last-ditch effort to keep Houstonians from the polls.
HOUSTON - The Office of the Attorney General has secured a settlement requiring the Harris County Clerk's Office to remove election advertisements that used race-based targeting settings, the office announced on Monday - one day before Harris County voters finish deciding the midterm elections.
The case began with a state lawsuit against the Harris County Clerk and the clerk's Director of Communications. According to the Attorney General's office, the clerk's office had paid to target election advertisements based on race and ethnicity, using Meta's advertising tools to aim its 'Get Out the Vote' advertisements toward certain racial and ethnic groups while excluding others. Under the secured agreement, the clerk's office has agreed to remove the advertisements that used those targeting settings and to refrain from reactivating them during the applicable election period.
One fact in the announcement belongs in every account of the case: Attorney General Ken Paxton recused himself from the lawsuit because he is a candidate on the November ballot. The action was brought by the state of Texas through his office, not by Paxton personally - a distinction the office itself placed in its announcement.
The suit drew sharp criticism when it was filed, one day before early voting ended. 'Ken Paxton filed this lawsuit in the final days of voting because he wants to stop Houstonians from going to the polls,' Rep. Christian Menefee said, calling it a last-ditch effort to prevent his constituents from voting; the suit alleged the county violated the Texas Constitution by using social media advertisements to encourage voting among Latino, Asian and African American voters while excluding others. Polls for Election Day open Tuesday at 7 a.m. across Harris County. No statement from the Harris County Clerk's Office on the settlement appeared in the sources read for this story.
