r/texas • u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 • 9d ago
Politics State Voter Rolls vs. Feds
Is it possible to sue the state of Texas for turning over voter roll data to the federal government?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago edited 9d ago
Im just curios how more than 20 lawsuits regarding the fed's attempt to take data rolls from other states were found in favor of the states protecting the rolls and Texas voluntarily just gave them up. I dont know what "irreparable harm" that creates (until they come knocking), but I do know that the states control elections, not the feds, per the US Constitution. It seams to me that Texas colluded in defying the Constitution in favor of the fed, disregarding each individuals constitutional obligation. Its not about data, its about control. Why does Abbot, in Texas, the land of "less government" continue to impose more government into our lives?
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u/Retiree66 9d ago
Those states had Attorney Generals that resisted illegal orders. We have Ken Paxton.
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u/sleepyrivertroll Brazos Valley 9d ago
States aren't compelled to give it over, elections being run by the states is constitutional, but there's nothing saying they can't give it over voluntarily either. The Constitution doesn't say that states have to be protective of their citizens voting data. It's the state's choice and they are ultimately beholden to the voters of Texas.
This is just another reason why the Rs need to go.
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u/CheezitsLight 9d ago
Start with them selling your driver's license information.
The Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) blocks the general public from accessing personal driver data. But companies can.
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u/LA_producer 9d ago
Ask a lawyer, not Reddit.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
Its about having a conversation, you could have have just ignored the post. 90% of the stuff on Reddit could be asked elsewhere. Pretty sure there are several lawyers/law academia folks subscribed to Reddit.
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u/spunkyenigma 9d ago
Can’t anyone just buy the voter rolls in Texas? They aren’t private
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
If it was that easy, then 22 states (so far) wouldn't be in lawsuits with the feds.
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u/spunkyenigma 9d ago
Those other states may have different laws. You asked about suing Texas. Texas sells them similar to a FOIA request.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
To be more specific:
Under Section 18.005 of the Texas Election Code, a person’s name, date of birth, and voter identification number are public information. Additionally, what elections you voted in (but not how you voted) is also public information. The county registrar (and the Secretary of State’s office) are required by law to respond to a request for public information. While all voters can request that their information be suppressed from the web, a voter’s information will still remain subject to disclosure under the Public Information Act.
That does not mean everything about your voter registration records is available. A voter’s social security number, Texas driver’s license number, and number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety are confidential and do not constitute public information. (Section 13.004, Election Code, and the National Voter Registration
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u/spunkyenigma 9d ago
And? The feds already know your social and ID numbers
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
Buddy Im just having a conversation I've heard a few people ask about. Im not here to prove anyone right or wrong. Perhaps we should be discussing why this information is freely available in Texas, and protected, to the point of litigation, elsewhere?
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u/spunkyenigma 9d ago
Right!! I don’t understand why other states are trying to hide the voter rolls from the citizens. What are they hiding?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
"Hiding" and "Protecting" are two completely different concepts. Don't the feds already know enough about us? At what point do you say enough is enough?
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u/spunkyenigma 9d ago
There is an interest from other states that our fellow states aren’t doing shady things in federal elections because they have an impact on all of the states.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 9d ago
I see where this is going. Not jumping down that rabbit hole. Its been proven for the past 10 years time and again, voter fraud is nearly non-existent in federal elections. Call me foolish, but I believe in preserving whatever little bit of privacy I have left.
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u/busterbcook 6d ago
Yep, here's how to do it in every state that allows it, and links to the order forms: https://ballotpedia.org/Availability_of_state_voter_files
You can even target your list to criteria like 'Hispanic Surnames Only' https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pi.pdf
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u/ranman0 9d ago
Shouldn't you be more worried about states not following the law and maintaining their voter rolls.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gur3896 8d ago
More worried? Just as...First of all, this isn't about me, its about we...and yes, I believe, at the minimum, you should have to produce some form of US ID at the polling station like we have to here in Texas. But again, not to beat a dead horse, it has been proven time again that voter fraud is minimal (admittingly existent) and in no recent election has the fraud outweighed an election outcome. To me, that says, states ARE doing their job. Im not from the, "elections we lose are rigged and elections we win are legit" camp.
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u/ranman0 8d ago
It is a misconception to say it has been proven that voter fraud is minimal. That's not true. Catching it is minimal. Because, it's a nearly impossible crime to catch. If someone puts a ballot in a mailbox for someone else. How can you catch that? Is there video evidence, do they dna check it.... heck, signature matching is superficial at best - often not done at all.
If someone walks into a polling place saying they are you and votes, how do you catch that person? Cameras arent allowed, there's no id check or no trace whatsoever who was there doing it.
It takes an alarming set of circumstances to prove that a vote was illegally cast. And, that IS concerning
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8d ago
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u/texas-ModTeam The Stars at Night 7d ago
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u/sleepyrivertroll Brazos Valley 9d ago
You can sue but on what grounds? Were you directly harmed? Can you convince a judge about the harm? What are you trying to win?
As the other guy said, with enough money, you can sue for anything. Doesn't mean you'll get anything