News / Articles

 On Friday, October 9th, the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) filed a
lawsuit on behalf of plaintiffs, MOVE Texas Civic Fund and the League of Women
Voters of Texas, against the Texas Secretary of State (SOS) and the Texas Department
of Public Safety (DPS).

The plaintiffs are seeking relief for breach of the settlement agreement they secured in
the 2021 case, Stringer v. Hughs, which required the Texas SOS and DPS to make
permanent changes to the online driver license renewal and change-of-address process
to ensure simultaneous voter registration is available to applicants, as required by the
National Voter Registration Act.

This is the only form of online voter registration in Texas and intentionally designed to
streamline the voter registration process for Texans. Unexplained technical problems
have caused voter registrations via the DPS website to go unprocessed, sometimes for
months. The agencies have failed to be transparent with members of the public about
their voter registration status.

The state continues to withhold key records while counties scramble to process delayed
registrations right before the critical election. Enforcement of the 2021 settlement
agreement will help ensure that DPS and the Texas SOS are held accountable to every
Texas voter.

“The 2021 settlement agreement paved the way for millions of Texans to register to vote
online with just the click of a box,” said Karla Maradiaga, Staff Attorney with the
Texas Civil Rights Project. “Now, before a critical midterm election, the state is in
denial about issues with the DPS system despite knowing voters have already been
impacted, and has refused to be transparent with Texans about why these delays
happened and what they will do to remedy this unacceptable breach. Texas voters
deserve a functional, convenient voter registration system, and we will fight to ensure
the state is held accountable to them.”

“Texas knows it must provide simultaneous voter registration applications in connection
with online driver license renewal and change-of-address transactions, yet it has been
failing to ensure that this process works for Texas voters for the better part of a year,”
said Caitlyn Silhan, Partner at Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel. “We are proud to once
again join TCRP, LWVTX, and MOVE Texas Civic Fund to bring Texas into compliance
with the law.”

”Alongside our partners, we helped secure online voter registration through the Texas
DPS driver’s-license system by joining a successful lawsuit in 2020,” said Tae Mi Lee,
President of the League of Women Voters of Texas. “We remain committed to
ensuring Texans can use this process without barriers or delays. Our members and
many other Texans have been affected, and we need assurance that these delays will
not happen again in the future, and certainly not in the lead-up to an election.”
“Texas agreed in court to make this form of online voter registration through DPS work,
and then failed to deliver. Instead, the system has been functioning as a barrier to the
ballot box,” said Mia Balderas, Interim Executive Director for MOVE Texas Civic
Fund. “No one should have to wonder for months whether their registration was ever
processed, or chase down their own paperwork to make sure their voice counts. After
the original Stringer v. Hughs lawsuit, we believed the state would honor its commitment
and protect Texas voters. This is what happens when a state has never made it a
priority to get this right, and we will see it through until the state keeps its word.”