Texas Sues Harris County Over Targeted Voter Ads

The Texas attorney general’s office has sued Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth’s office over social-media election-information ads, alleging they unlawfully targeted voters by race and ethnicity. The state is seeking a court order to halt the ads or remove their targeting tags and to bar similar targeting in the future. The lawsuit says the county used Meta advertising tools to direct election-awareness messages toward Black, Latino and Asian audiences while not targeting other demographic groups. It alleges the practice violated the Texas Constitution. The ads were intended to direct voters to county election resources, according to the complaint. The state’s filing names Hudspeth and members of her staff. It alleges the county spent $43,429 on a month’s worth of social-media ads through Meta platforms. The complaint describes audience interests including African American literature, Hispanic kitchen and Latin dance. The ads reportedly ran on Facebook and Instagram beginning in September. Attorney General Ken Paxton recused himself, his office said, because he is a candidate on the November ballot. The case was brought by the broader attorney general’s office. Paxton is...