Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis/Getty Images
Texas officials reached an agreement with a number of civil rights organizations on Friday to halt the review and effort to purge tens of thousands of suspected non-citizens from the voter rolls, putting an end to multiple federal lawsuits challenging their controversial plan.
The backdrop: In January, officials rolled out a list of almost 100,000 people on its voter rolls flagged as possible non-U.S. citizens, and said that 58,000 of them may have voted in one or more election. Local election officials were asked to launch a review for potential removal of those individuals from the voter roll.
That announcement gained widespread attention, including from President Trump, who used the list to renew false claims of rampant voter fraud in the U.S. State officials later acknowledged that their numbers were based on flawed data, and it turned out that at least 20,000 naturalized U.S. citizens were on the list.
Details: According to the agreement, the state will also pay $450,000 in costs and attorney's fees for the plaintiffs' lawyers.
Texas officials also agreed to a create a new process to maintain the state's voter rolls.
In February, a federal judge temporarily ordered officials not to remove any registered voter from the rolls using the flawed data, and criticized what he called a “ham-handed” effort by the state to “strike fear and anxiety and to intimidate the least powerful among us.”
What they’re saying: “After months of litigation, the state has finally agreed to do what we’ve demanded from the start — a complete withdrawal of the flawed and discriminatory voter purge list, bringing this failed experiment in voter suppression to an end,” said Andre Segura, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, one of the several groups that challenged the state in court. “The right to vote is sacrosanct, and no eligible voter should have to worry about losing that right."
“Today's agreement accomplishes our office's goal of maintaining an accurate list of qualified registered voters while eliminating the impact of any list maintenance activity on naturalized U.S. citizens. I will continue to work with all stakeholders in the election community to ensure this process is conducted in a manner that holds my office accountable and protects the voting rights of eligible Texans,” said Texas Secretary of State David Whitley.
The settlement:
Go deeper: Trump cites misleading Texas statistics in voter fraud claim