Bridget Grumet column in the Austin American-Statesman:

Funny. I thought our state leaders wanted regular Texans to help enforce the important stuff.

Like that time Gov. Greg Abbott urged “members of the general public” to call ChildProtective Services to report any young person receiving gender-affirming medical care.

Or that time the Legislature deputized private citizens to become abortion bounty hunters,u sing the mere threat of costly civil lawsuits to upend access to reproductive services.

Or the new push — one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top priorities for the next legislative session— for a bill to chill discussion of LGBTQ issues in classrooms by empowering people to sue school districts over lessons they dislike.

Yes, dear Texans, the courthouse doors are wide open to you when it is time to fight the culture wars. In fact, our state leaders are counting on your litigious spirit! But when it comes to the most fundamental issue in our civic space — our right to access fair elections, free of discriminatory policies or manipulated maps — well, those same Republican officials would rather slam the courthouse doors in your face.

In defending lawsuits over our state’s redistricting maps, plainly drawn to drown out the voices of Black and brown Texans who fueled much of our state’s population growth, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken the stunning position that individual shave no standing to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Simply because they’re individuals.