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For-profit

Civic Government Solutions (CGS)

Website:

civicgs.com/
Location:

Austin, TX
Type:

Voter Registration For-Profit
CEO:

Jeremy Smith

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Civic Government Solutions (CGS) is a for-profit subsidiary of Civitech  that claims to assist local governments in voter outreach and registration efforts. In September 2024, two Texas counties were sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for contracting with CGS. 1 2 CGS maintains that it is non-partisan, though its chief executive officer, Jeremy Smith, has held positions with Democratic-leaning entities and Democratic campaigns in the past. 3 4

Activity

According to its website, since 2018 Civic Government Solutions has sent out over 10 million mailers, resulting in roughly 2 million voter registrations. 5

CGS’ website also claims that in 2020, it sent out 3.6 million mailers and that 20% of the recipients registered to vote, 85% of whom voted. 6

CGS maintains a “proprietary database” of individuals who voted in previous elections and have recently moved but failed to update their voter registrations. 7

CGS uses a mail tracking system based on USPS barcodes that it claims increases voter registration conversion rates by 25%. 8

Controversy

On September 6, 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued Travis County and Bexar County over allegations of unlawful use of taxpayer funds. This came after the County hired Civic Government Solutions (CGS) in August to identify unregistered voters. According to Paxton, CGS is a subsidiary of “a known partisan organization,” Civitech, and therefore is ineligible to receive public funding. 9 Paxton also argued that Texas law prohibits county governments from sending out unsolicited voter registration forms. 10

On September 12, despite the lawsuit, the Bexar County Commission voted to commence a $392,700 payment to CSG. At a public meeting, several county residents voiced criticism  over claims that CGS chief executive officer Jeremy Smith had expressed pro-Democrat Party views. Smith responded that though he has personal partisan beliefs, CGS is non-partisan. Other critics claimed that CGS was the sole vendor for the County’s contract, so CGS did not need to compete on price. One speaker stated, “none of it passes the smell test.” 11

Attorney General Paxton has threatened legal action against Harris County for considering hiring CGS. 12

Leadership

Jeremy Smith is the chief executive officer of Civic Government Solutions and its parent company Civitech, which he founded in 2019. From March 2018 to April 2021, Smith founded and led Register2vote.org. During the 2016 election, Smith was the director of voter assistance in Florida for former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign.. From 2011 to 2016, Smith served in the U.S. Army. 13 14

In April 2024, Smith appeared on the podcast Freedom Over Fascism which is described as exploring “what it takes to rebuild power and freedom for people in MAGA-captured states.” During the podcast, Smith discussed “how we can help Democrats across the country” in the 2024 election. 15

Civitech

Civitech, a B Corporation, is the parent company of Civic Government Solutions. While CGS claims to focus on providing services to local governments, Civitech provides voter outreach to candidates, PACs, political parties, and other organizations. As of 2022, since its founding, Civitech claims to have mailed 8.35 million voter registration forms and registered 1.77 million voters. 16

References

  1. “Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Travis County Over Illegal Use of Taxpayer Funds to Hire Partisan Organization to Identify Potentially Unregistered Voters.” Ken Paxton Texas Attorney General. September 6, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-travis-county-over-illegal-use-taxpayer-funds-hire-partisan.
  2. Vertuno, Jim. “Texas Republican attorney general sues over voter registration efforts in Democrat strongholds.” 5 NBC DFW. September 7, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-republican-attorney-general-sues-over-voter-registration-efforts-in-democrat-strongholds/3639893/?os=nirstv&ref=app.
  3. Avila, Jaie. “More questions surface about county’s controversial voter registration contract.” NEWS4SA. September 12, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/more-questions-surface-about-countys-controversial-voter-registration-contract.
  4. “Jeremy Smith.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-smith-75b9186a/.
  5. “Homepage.” Civic Government Solutions. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://civicgs.com/.
  6. “Homepage.” Civic Government Solutions. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://civicgs.com/.
  7. “Homepage.” Civic Government Solutions. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://civicgs.com/.
  8. “Homepage.” Civic Government Solutions. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://civicgs.com/.
  9. “Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Travis County Over Illegal Use of Taxpayer Funds to Hire Partisan Organization to Identify Potentially Unregistered Voters.” Ken Paxton Texas Attorney General. September 6, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-travis-county-over-illegal-use-taxpayer-funds-hire-partisan.
  10. Vertuno, Jim. “Texas Republican attorney general sues over voter registration efforts in Democrat strongholds.” 5 NBC DFW. September 7, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-republican-attorney-general-sues-over-voter-registration-efforts-in-democrat-strongholds/3639893/?os=nirstv&ref=app.
  11. Avila, Jaie. “More questions surface about county’s controversial voter registration contract.” NEWS4SA. September 12, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/more-questions-surface-about-countys-controversial-voter-registration-contract.
  12. Vertuno, Jim. “Texas Republican attorney general sues over voter registration efforts in Democrat strongholds.” 5 NBC DFW. September 7, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-republican-attorney-general-sues-over-voter-registration-efforts-in-democrat-strongholds/3639893/?os=nirstv&ref=app.
  13. Avila, Jaie. “More questions surface about county’s controversial voter registration contract.” NEWS4SA. September 12, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/more-questions-surface-about-countys-controversial-voter-registration-contract.
  14. “Jeremy Smith.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-smith-75b9186a/.
  15. “CEO Jeremy Smith Appears on Freedom Over Fascism Podcast.” Civitech. April 12, 2024. Accessed September 14, 2024. https://civitech.io/post/ceo-jeremy-smith-freedom-over-fascism-podcast/.
  16. “2022 Year in Review.” Civitech. Accessed September 15, 2024. https://civitech.io/year-in-review-2022/.
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Civic Government Solutions (CGS)


Austin, TX