Fact Sheet: Texas Response To Presidential Advisory Commission on Election

Integrity

The Secretary of States office will provide the Election Integrity Commission with public
information and will protect the private information of Texas citizens while working to maintain
the security and integrity of our states elections system. As always, my office will continue to
exercise the utmost care whenever sensitive voter information is required to be released by
state or federal law. - Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, Friday, June 30, 2017
The following information is publicly available under Texas law:
INFORMATION REQUESTED PUBLIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE
UNDER TEXAS LAW (CITATIONS
BELOW)

Full First and Last Names of all registrants Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,
18.066, 18.005, 18.061

Middle Names or Initials Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 18.005, 18.061

Addresses Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 13.0021, 15.0215, 18.0051,
Texas Government Code 552.1175

Dates of Birth Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 18.005, 18.061; compare
Paxton v. City of Dallas, No. 03-13-
00546-CV, 2015 WL 3394061, at *3
(Tex. App. Austin May 22, 2015 , pet.
denied) (mem. op.); OR2016-14985,
Texas Government Code 552.1175

Political Party Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 18.005, 18.061

Voter History from 2006 onward Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,
18.066, 18.005, 18.061, 18.069

Active/Inactive Status Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 18.005, 18.061

Cancelled Status Texas Election Code 1.012, 15.084,

18.066, 18.005, 18.061
 Fact Sheet: Texas Response To Presidential Advisory Commission on Election
Integrity

Public voter roll information in Texas is available to those who complete and submit the following
form: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pi.pdf

Social Security numbers (full or partial) are not public information under Texas law.

Addresses of registered voters are public information, with three exceptions:

o Addresses of federal and state judges and their spouses (15.0215)
o The true residential, business, or school address of a voter participating in the Office of the
Attorney Generals address confidentiality program (18.0051)
o Home addresses of peace officers, county jailers, security officers, and employees of certain
criminal or juvenile justice agencies or offices who choose to restrict public access to their
information (Texas Government Code 552.1175)

Dates of Birth, if requested as a list (as applicable here) are public information under Chapter 18 of
the Texas Election Code. They are not public if:
o They are requested for a single individual (see Texas Attorney Generals opinion from
Paxton v. City of Dallas:
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/openrecords/51paxton/orl/2016/pdf/or20
1614985.pdf)
o They are dates of birth of peace officers, county jailers, security officers, and employees of
certain criminal or juvenile justice agencies or offices who choose to restrict public access to
their information (Texas Government Code 552.1175)

The Secretary of States office does not track political party affiliation on a statewide basis. Voting
history, however, will contain the type of primary in which a voter voted only if the voter
participated in a primary.

Under Sec. 18.069 of the Texas Election Code, Voter History only includes whether the voter voted
on election day, voted early by personal appearance, or voted early by mail. This does not include
who a person voted for in any given election, just whether or not he/she voted and the manner in
which he/she cast a ballot.

Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity

The Vice-Chair of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, Kris Kobach, issued the
following declaration (under penalty of perjury) in court documents on July 5, 2017:
o My letters state that documents submitted to the Commission will be made available to
the public. That refers only to the narrative responses. With respect to voter roll data, the
Commission intends to de-identify any such data prior to any public release of documents.
In other words, the voter rolls themselves will not be released to the public by the
Commission. The Commission intends to maintain the data on the White House computer
system.
o Source: https://epic.org/privacy/litigation/voter/epic-v-commission/EPIC-v-Commission-
TRO-declaration-of-Kris-Kobach.pdf
 Fact Sheet: Texas Response To Presidential Advisory Commission on Election
Integrity

On July 10, 2017, the Commission also sent the states a follow-up communication requesting the
states not submit any data until the Court rules on the plaintiffs Temporary Restraining Order
motion. Furthermore, the Commission stated it will not send further instructions about how to use
the new system [the Commission intends to use for transmission of any data] pending [the] Courts
resolution of the TRO motion.
o Source: http://www.alreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EPIC-v-Commission-
government-filing-on-DOD-database.pdf
On July 24, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the Electronic Privacy
Information Centers motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction against
the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
o Source: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2017cv1320-40
On July 26, 2018, the Commission sent a revised letter to all 50 states clarifying his request for
publicly available voter roll data. Among the clarifications were:
o the Commission will not publicly release any personally identifiable information
regarding any individual voter or any group of voters from the voter registration
records you submit.
o Individuals voter registration records will be kept confidential and secure
throughout the duration of the Commissions existence.
o Once the Commissions analysis is complete, the Commission will dispose of the
data as permitted by federal law. The only information that will be made public are
statistical conclusions drawn from the data, other general observations that may be
drawn from the data, and any correspondence that you may send to the
Commission in response to the narrative questions enumerated in the June 28
letter.
o Let me be clear, the Commission will not release any personally identifiable
information from voter registration records to the public.
o Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/354869060/Kris-Kobach-2nd-Request-for-
Voter-
Information?irgwc=1&content=10079&campaign=Skimbit%2C%20Ltd.&ad_group=38395X1
559799Xdbd545feb0148fb19e939f5abb3fd448&keyword=ft750noi&source=impactradius&
medium=affiliate#from_embed (letter to California Secretary of State)