The Texas attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth's office and its director of communication, accusing them of using digital ad tools to selectively target voters by race, ethnicity and language rather than reaching the public equally. The suit claims the clerk's office ran election-information ads designed to boost turnout among particular racial and ethnic groups while leaving others out.
According to Click2Houston, the attorney general's office alleges the clerk's office set election-information advertisements to be shown preferentially to certain populations, with the ads sought to increase turnout among particular races and ethnicities but not others. The state contends the clerk's office exceeded its authority by classifying voters by race for election-information advertising, and it argues the suit seeks equal opportunity for Texans to receive election information and participate regardless of race or demographic. Ken Paxton recused himself from the case because he is a candidate on the November ballot, meaning the lawsuit was brought through the broader office of the attorney general rather than under his personal direction.
How the Targeting Was Allegedly Set Up
The claims center on the clerk's use of Meta's advertising platform, which lets advertisers select audiences by demographics, interests and behaviors. Per Texas Scorecard, the Harris County Elections Department is accused of specifically targeting a nonwhite, Spanish-speaking audience through Meta's detailed targeting function on Facebook and Instagram ads meant to remind people to vote.
Texas Scorecard reports the ads targeted keywords such as Africa, Latin Music, India, and Asia, along with countries across Central and South America and South and East Asia. The outlet also notes that Spanish is the only language chosen under the Language tab in the ad settings, suggesting the messaging was aimed narrowly rather than broadcast to all eligible voters regardless of background.
Spending figures tied to the campaign vary depending on the source. According to NewsRadio 740 KTRH, citing researcher Parker Thayer, the county bought $43,000 of early voting reminder ads on Facebook and Instagram, a figure Thayer said he arrived at after viewing Meta's public ad tracker. Click2Houston, meanwhile, reported that the Meta Ad Library showed the clerk's office spent an estimated $43,429 on one set of ads in the past 30 days. It is not clear from available reporting whether those two figures describe the same ad set or the same time period.
Part of a Broader Push to Boost Turnout
The lawsuit lands amid a much larger voter-education effort in Harris County, where turnout has long been a sore spot. Harris County's turnout percentage often ranks near the bottom among Texas' largest counties, and more than 20% of first-day voters this cycle had either never voted in a midterm election or hadn't voted in one since 2018, as reported by Houston Chronicle; even as early voting this cycle broke daily records.
Those turnout struggles have driven a wave of outreach that long predates the lawsuit. In September, the county rolled out 13 billboards carrying the message Plan. Check. Vote., part of a campaign that also used radio, television, social media and multilingual materials, Click2Houston reported at the time. The billboards appear in English and Spanish, with additional messages planned in other languages, and the broader effort is meant to remind voters to check their registration, preview their ballot and find a place to vote.
Community groups have joined that push on the ground. The Houston Chronicle described Mi Familia en Acción canvassers going door to door in Pasadena, asking residents about community issues and whether they planned to vote, while Emgage USA, a nonpartisan Muslim American civic engagement nonprofit, conducted similar outreach in Alief.
Part of a Pattern of AG Scrutiny
This is not the first time Paxton's office has gone after county election operations this cycle. Democracy Docket reported that the attorney general sued Travis County officials to block a plan to hire Civic Government Solutions to identify eligible but unregistered voters, and the office separately threatened legal action against Harris County over a proposed plan to mail unsolicited voter-registration applications.
Kprc 2 said it contacted the Harris County clerk's office for comment on the lawsuit. The office's substantive response to the targeting allegations was not available in reporting reviewed for this story.
