The Texas Attorney General's Office is “weighing its options” after a federal judge blocked the state from purging suspected non-citizens from voter rolls.
The ruling allows counties to purge voter rolls while civil rights lawsuits continue, but they cannot remove anyone without the judge's approval. It comes after a handful of civil rights groups sued the Texas Secretary of State's Office when it was discovered it erroneously flagged thousands of naturalized citizens.
“No qualified voter should have his or her vote diminished by the presence of unqualified voters, however, it has to be done properly and in an orderly and supportable way, this was not,” says Linda Cohn, president of the League of Women Voters of the Houston Area.
“I hope the secretary of state will go back, maybe come up with a list where a little bit of diligence, a little bit of follow up is required for the sake of good voter roll maintenance.”
The AG's Office insists no law was violated and therefore no need for a federal court takeover.
“Absolutely we do have to have requirements for voting and number one is citizenship, and that has to be enforced, but it has to be enforced properly,” says Cohn.