Voter Protection

Waters & Kraus has a long, proud, and proven history of fighting for the rights of the underrepresented and the unprotected—hardworking people who have been wronged or their lives endangered through no fault of their own. Our unwavering commitment extends to the ballot box. We are proud to partner with civil rights organizations in fighting hard to ensure that all voters can cast ballots that count without intimidation, adversity, or resistance.

Making Voters’ Voices Heard

After years of litigation and appeals fought by Waters & Kraus alongside the Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas recently came into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (the federal “motor voter” law), which requires the state to allow eligible Texans to register or update their voter registration when they renew or update their driver’s license online. It had previously refused to do so, despite misleadingly asking users if they would like to register to vote during their online driver’s license transaction, and despite evidence that allowing online registration would save the taxpayers money.

We, our co-counsel at the Texas Civil Rights Project, and our clients—voters who attempted to register to vote with the Department of Public Safety only to find out at the polls that they were not properly registered—worked for months with the state in an attempt to bring it into compliance with the NVRA without litigation. We made some real progress: the state agreed to several reforms, including ensuring that Texans who attempted to register to vote during in-person driver’s license applications were properly registered. But the state refused to do the same for online driver’s license transactions, prompting us to file suit in 2016.

And we prevailed. In September 2020, after years of litigation and two court orders mandating compliance with the law, Texas finally changed its online driver’s license system, and now allows Texans to register to vote during their online driver’s license transactions.

Waters & Kraus also served as co-counsel to voting rights advocates in Mississippi and other civil rights lawyers in redistricting litigation aimed at redrawing senate district boundaries in Mississippi that violated the Voting Rights Act and disenfranchised African-American voters. That litigation resulted in the redrawing of Mississippi’s State Senate District 22.

These are just some examples of our commitment to ensuring every eligible voter’s voice is heard. Our firm conducts this urgent voting rights work pro bono as a public service.

More on Our Voting Litigation

• Texas in Violation of Voting Registration Law
• State Called Out for Continuing to Violate the Federal Voter Law
• TCRP: Court Rules in Favor of Texas Voters
• Voters Move Forward with Suit Against Texas
• Federal Court Denies Texas’ Motion to Dismiss “Motor Voter” Case
• Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Voting Rights of Miss.’s African-American Voters
• A Win for Texas Motor Voter Registrants on All Counts
• Federal Judge Rules that Texas is Violating “Motor Voter” Law
• Awards are Nice. But Insuring Every Texan Gets to Vote is the Biggest Reward.
• Texas Now Allows Limited Online Voter Registration
• The Right to Vote: Fight. Defend. Win.

Organizations and Resources for Voters

The first step is registering to vote or, if already registered, confirming voter registration status. You can check your voter registration status online, and find information about registration requirements online as well.

Once they confirm their registration status, voters should make a plan to vote early or on Election Day, whether by mail or in person. Local election offices provide relevant area election information for voters. If voters experience any forms of intimidation, they should call 866-OUR-VOTE, a non-partisan national hotline, for assistance.

Here are additional voting resources:

• Find My State or Local Election Office
• Texas Voter Protection
• Texas Civil Rights Project
• 866OurVote.org
• Vote.org
• Vote411.org
• RocktheVote.org
• VoteTexas.gov

About Waters & Kraus

At Waters & Kraus, LLP, our clients aren’t just case numbers. They’re real people dealing with the biggest issues they’ll ever face. And we stand with them—however long and whatever it takes—until justice is done. In addition to our work protecting voters and voting rights in Texas and beyond, we also represent plaintiffs in qui tam whistleblower matters in cases that uncover false claims submitted to the government. Based in Texas, with offices in California, Louisiana, and by appointment in Illinois, Waters & Kraus has represented families from all fifty states and many foreign countries, as well as foreign governments.

Waters Kraus & Paul is the West Coast practice of Waters & Kraus, LLP, a national plaintiffs’ law firm.