Old Times There Are Not Forgotten

Texas has, intentionally, a non-centralized system of state records. It’s largely a byproduct of Reconstruction. Which is why DHS is issuing subpoenas to all 254 Texas counties, for information on voter registration applications and signatures.

The subpoenas appear to be linked to a series of efforts by the Trump administration to verify the citizenship of registered voters. In December, Texas turned over the state’s voter roll to the Justice Department. The transfer included voters’ identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial social security numbers. It did not include, however, voters’ registration applications or signatures — the state does not have access to that information, which is kept by county voter registrars.

Translation: DHS fucked up the first time with the information it got from Texas SOS, so they’re trying to get another bite at the apple. Now they have to go to each of Texas’ 254 counties, and ask for information. So far, they aren’t doing that very well.

Lubbock County’s elections administrator, Roxzine Stinson, said she met with a Homeland Security representative who informed her she would soon receive a subpoena seeking additional information for at least 10 voters, and potentially up to 30. Stinson said she’ll seek guidance from the county’s legal department on how to respond.

The Homeland Security representative told Stinson “all 254 counties will be contacted,” she said.

Election officials in Brazos County received a subpoena by email this week, Trudy Hancock, the county’s elections administrator, confirmed to Votebeat. Hancock said the subpoena specifically requests voter registration records, including voter registration applications, signatures, and voter history, but doesn’t list the names of individual voters. She said she’s asking for legal advice on how to respond “because the request is open-ended.”

Suzie Harvey, the election administrator in Montgomery County confirmed she has also received a subpoena that was delivered in person, but similarly to Hancock, it isn’t specific about which voters’ records it’s seeking.

This is the inverse of Trump’s demand of Raffensperger to “find” 12,000 votes. The DHS wants to “find” illegal voters, but without even a reasonable suspicion that such people exist. It’s a fishing expedition.  And it has to go county by county, requesting information 19 courts have already said it has no right to have.

The DOJ has lost 19 such attempts so far. I don’t know how they’ll fare in Texas. My guess is the larger counties, being “blue,” will probably defy the DOJ/DHS, especially since 19 states have spurned them successfully, so far. Smaller counties might be more reluctant, or more financially constrained. But they could band together and share the burden of going to court. And winning.

This is just a fucking fishing expedition: looking for people to call criminals. That’s such a violation of due process, it’s like due process has no purchase. I’d really like to see the courts disallow it 254 more times.

We live in hope, right?