Texas Defends Europe From Voting Ads That Include Madrid

Harris County removed audience tags from its online voting-reminder ads Thursday night after the Texas Attorney General's Office sued, alleging unconstitutional racial and ethnic targeting. The county says it removed the tags to avoid election distractions. What that does to the lawsuit remains unclear.

The ads encouraged people to make a plan to vote. The disputed targeting included African-American literature, Latin music, Hispanic kitchen, East Asia and a collection of countries and cities.

So here we are, days before an election, examining whether the government may remind you to vote after noticing your interest in a kitchen.

Imagine the deposition. Please describe your relationship with rice. Have you ever knowingly listened to a song with a trumpet? And when you clicked on that recipe, were you intending to participate in representative government?

There are legitimate questions about how public agencies target advertising. A Facebook interest isn't somebody's race, citizenship or voting eligibility, and the lawsuit's discrimination claims aren't a court finding. But the state's complaint says the targeting excluded European cultural interests and places.

The reported list includes Madrid.

Madrid. In Spain. Did Europe lose a city while I was asleep? WHO AUTHORIZED THE TRANSFER? Does the Prado know it needs to pack?

THE LAWSUIT HAS A PROBLEM WITH EXCLUDING EUROPE AND A CITY IN EUROPE IS SITTING IN THE EVIDENCE.

That doesn't settle the constitutional question. It does suggest somebody should have consulted an atlas before demanding everybody else explain their targeting.

I'm going to close the map. The county has removed the tags. Perhaps people can now encounter an ad about voting without the Spanish capital having to produce its papers.

Except there's another little administrative flourish. Ken Paxton's office says Paxton isn't participating in the case because he's on the ballot as the Republican Senate nominee. The office didn't answer questions about when he recused himself.

So the attorney general's office is suing over voter outreach while the attorney general is running for a job those voters help fill. He isn't participating, his office says. Imagine explaining that distinction at the mailbox: this envelope is from the office, not the candidate whose name is on the office. Please separate your branches of Paxton before opening.

DO WE NEED TO RECUSE THE LETTERHEAD TOO?

Harris County's voters need election information. The state's lawsuit, meanwhile, could use a map.