Committee reviews bill to ban state agencies from sending unsolicited voter-registration cards

Senate Bill 511, offered by Senator Bettencourt, would ban an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision from distributing an unsolicited voter-registration card to a person who did not request it, with enumerated exceptions (volunteer deputy registrars, high-school deputy registrars, political parties and candidates). The billauthor framed the change as parallel to restrictions on unsolicited mail-in ballot applications and said government should not use taxpayer funds for unsolicited distribution of registration forms.

Multiple witnesses testified for and against the proposal. Supporters described an episode in Bexar County where the county contracted with Civic Government Solution (CGS) for about $400,000 to mail registration packets; witnesses said the company was closely linked to a private firm Civitec, which they said used registration data for partisan targeting. Kyle Sinclair (Bexar County resident) described data flows and low registration returns: testimony cited roughly 959 new registrations produced, with alleged duplicates and low net effect relative to the stated outreach volumes. Lucy Trainer and other witnesses described concerns that unsolicited applications could create confusion for recipients, including noncitizens.

Opponents (ACLU of Texas, Common Cause, Every Texan and others) said the bill as drafted was overbroad and could restrict normal voter-registration outreach by county offices and voter-registration agencies designated under Election Code section 20.001 (including HHSC, libraries, DPS and others). Mary Barra (ACLU of Texas) and Emily Eby French (Common Cause) said the language risked unintentionally cutting off forms at counters in public offices and disadvantaging efforts to increase registration and participation. Several witnesses asked for a carve-out for agencies designated under section 20.001; the committee substitute discussed during the hearing would address HHSC concerns.

The committee heard that Bexar County's unsolicited mailing produced a low conversion rate and that the vendor relationship raised transparency and data-governance concerns. Supporters urged the state to prohibit taxpayer-funded unsolicited mailings and to protect registration data from private partisan targeting. Opponents urged narrower language and protections so that routine public-service distribution of registration forms would continue. The committee left the bill pending for further drafting and the record of public testimony will be available.