AMARILLO, TX – The Texas Secretary of State’s Office filed an opposition brief arguing that a joint motion by the Republican Party of Texas and Attorney General Ken Paxton to close the state’s primary elections is unconstitutional and procedurally improper.
Filed in the Northern District of Texas on October 30, 2025, the 31-page brief contends that the proposed “consent judgment” lacks jurisdiction, violates Article III’s requirement for adversity between parties, and infringes on the state’s sovereign immunity. The filing asserts that the motion, brought less than an hour after notifying the Secretary of State, is “collusive” and represents “a fundamental assault on Article III’s case-or-controversy requirement.”
The Secretary of State’s counsel argued that the plaintiffs—Republican voter Chip Hunt and the Republican Party of Texas—have not demonstrated any immediate harm, as their challenge concerns the 2028 election, not the ongoing 2026 cycle. The brief maintains that any changes to Texas’s primary system must be enacted by the Legislature, not through an agreed judgment between non-adverse parties.
Citing constitutional precedent, the opposition states that “consent cannot create jurisdiction” and that the proposed judgment “does not assume the honest and actual antagonistic assertion of rights” required under federal law. The filing requests that the court deny the motion outright or hold a hearing to determine whether the proposal is fair, reasonable, and non-collusive.
