Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas went to court on Wednesday to try to stop county leaders in San Antonio from sending out more than 200,000 voter registration applications to unregistered residents of Bexar County.
The lawsuit by Mr. Paxton followed a letter he sent days earlier warning Bexar County officials, most of whom are Democrats, against proceeding with the mailing.
The county’s governing commissioners voted 3 to 1 on Tuesday to approve the proposal anyway.
The suit is the latest chapter in a yearslong conflict over voting and elections in Texas between Republicans, who dominate state government, and Democrats, who control most of the state’s largest urban areas.
Across the country, there have been other fights over registration, including in Michigan, where the Donald J. Trump campaign is trying to stop a state effort to expand registration at federal offices.
Nine Republican state attorneys general sued the Biden administration last month over a three-year-old executive order directing the federal government to expand registration, a suit that also included other Republican opponents of the order.
In Texas, state officials have become increasingly aggressive in recent weeks in their attempts to prevent what Mr. Paxton has said are efforts to circumvent the state’s strict election rules in ways that could lead to fraud in the November election.
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In an attempt to prevent Bexar County officials in San Antonio from distributing more than 200,000 voter registration forms to unregistered citizens, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appeared in court on Wednesday.
Mr. Paxton filed the lawsuit in response to a letter he had written several days earlier cautioning Bexar County officials—the majority of whom are Democrats—not to move forward with the mailing. The proposal was approved on Tuesday by the county’s governing commissioners by a vote of 3 to 1.
Mr. In addition, Paxton has threatened to sue Harris County, which includes Houston, a Democratic stronghold. There, officials have been considering a similar initiative to increase the number of registered voters before the early-November registration deadline.
Democrats, who run the majority of the state’s major cities, and Republicans, who control state government, have been at odds over voting and elections in Texas for years. The latest development in this conflict is the lawsuit.
Other registration-related conflicts have occurred across the nation, notably in Michigan, where the Donald J. The Trump campaign is attempting to thwart a state initiative aimed at increasing registration at federal agencies. A three-year-old executive order mandating the federal government to increase registration was the subject of a lawsuit filed by nine Republican state attorneys general against the Biden administration last month. Other Republican opponents of the order were also named in the suit.
Texas state officials have been stepping up their efforts in the last few weeks to stop what Mr. Dot Paxton claims are attempts to get around the state’s stringent election laws in a way that might result in election fraud in November.
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