Federal judge temporarily blocks Texas from purging voter rolls

A federal judge has blocked election officials in Texas from checking the citizenship of registered voters and potentially purging them from electoral rolls in a temporary order that marks a significant victory for civil rights activists.

The ruling by US district judge Fred Biery on Wednesday comes a month after the Texas secretary of state’s office flagged almost 100,000 registered voters who it claimed required a citizenship review in order to maintain the right to vote in the state. The office was later forced to concede the data it had used was significantly flawed as advocates argued it discriminated against Hispanic Americans.

The move prompted three legal challenges from civil rights groups targeting several counties in Texas with Biery’s order effectively stopping the entire state from requesting proof of citizenship or purging voters without informing the court first. The order will remain in effect until the legal challenge is fully argued.

The thousands of voters identified by the secretary of state’s office were individuals who recently had registered as non-citizens when applying for or renewing their driver’s license. The office later conceded that around a quarter of those flagged were naturalized citizens and, during court pro

ceedings, accepted there were likely many more on the list who were now US citizens.

In a rebuke to the Texas secretary of state’s office, Biery said in his ruling that the process “was inherently paved with flawed results, meaning perfectly legal naturalized Americans were burdened with what the court finds to be ham-handed and threatening correspondence from the state”.

The judge added that the secretary of state’s office “did not politely ask for information” but instead used “the power of government to strike fear and anxiety and to intimidate the least powerful among us. No native born Americans were subjected to such treatment.”

Thomas Buser-Clancy, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas said the order was “an extremely important ruling to help prevent eligible voters in Texas from getting kicked off the voter rolls”.

Sam Taylor, communications director for the Texas secretary of state, said the office was now “preparing a communication to Texas counties” following the ruling.

“Secretary [David] Whitley met personally with representatives of the plaintiffs today, solicited their feedback, and made clear that every option is on the table,” Taylor said.