Attorney General’s Office Sues Harris County Clerk Over Voting Ads Targeted by Ethnicity

The Office of the Attorney General sued Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth on Thursday, asking a state district court to stop her office’s Facebook and Instagram voting ads, which the state says were aimed at African-American, Asian and Latino audiences and no others.

Hudspeth said in a statement late Thursday that the ads’ audience tags had been removed “to avoid unnecessary distractions” from the election. The Texas Tribune reported that her office changed the settings Thursday night and that it is unclear how the change affects the suit.

The suit also names Irene Nuñez, the clerk’s director of communications, who is listed as the point of contact for the ads. The state asks for a temporary restraining order requiring the clerk’s office to shut the ads off or strip out their ethnic targeting, followed by temporary and permanent injunctions. The copy of the petition the attorney general posted does not show a cause number or the court assigned to the case.

What the ads say

The ads urge viewers to “Plan. Check. Vote!” They give the early voting dates, October 19 through 30, and Election Day, November 3, and point viewers to the county elections website and the “Harris Votes” app. Some began running on September 23 and others on October 7. According to the petition, three of the ads launched September 23 drew at least 2.7 million impressions on an estimated $20,000 to $25,000 in spending.

The targeting

The petition relies on Meta’s public Ad Library, which shows the audience settings an advertiser chose. Those settings limit the ads to Harris County and spread them evenly across adult men and women. The “detailed targeting” list then narrows the audience with interest tags including African-American history, African-American literature, Afrobeat, Latin dance, Hispanic kitchen and Spanish language, along with countries from Mexico and Guatemala to Vietnam, the Philippines and India. The only European entries are Spain, Barcelona and Madrid.

The state says the clerk’s office spent an estimated $10,804 on those targeted ads over seven days and $43,429 over 30 days.

“There can be no legitimate reason for Harris County to intentionally target voter advertisements toward this peculiar assortment of African-American, Asian, and Latino ethnicities, cultural interests, and countries, but not toward any European ethnicities, cultural interests, or countries,” the petition says.

The legal claim

The state brings the case as an ultra vires suit, which claims an official acted without legal authority. A Texas county has only the powers the Constitution and the Legislature give it, and the petition argues that no statute lets a county aim voter information at some racial groups and not others. It cites the Equal Rights Amendment of the Texas Constitution: “Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin.”

The suit was filed the day before early voting ends. “Once the 2026 Election is over, the harm will be done,” the petition says.

Attorney General Ken Paxton recused himself because he is a candidate on the November ballot, according to his office. The office’s Special Litigation Division filed the case. The Harris County Attorney’s Office said it was reviewing the lawsuit and called it a “pathetic political distraction.”

The suit puts one question to a judge: whether a county elections office may use ethnic interest tags to choose which of its voters see a reminder to vote.