The Harris County Elections Administrators’ office will not oversee the upcoming November election after the Texas Supreme Court on Aug. 22 denied a request to temporarily block a new law that effectively eliminates the position.
Under the measure, the position of county election administrator in counties with a population of more than 3.5 million would be abolished and election duties would instead be transferred to the county clerk and tax assessor-collector.
“The county tax assessor-collector shall serve as the voter registrar and the duties and functions of the county clerk that were performed by the administrator revert to the county clerk,” the bill states.
According to Republican lawmakers, during the 2022 primary election, the elections administrator at the time, Isabel Longoria, failed to include roughly 10,000 ballots in election night final results and later released a statement saying her office had “found” them.
State Files Lawsuit Against Bill
GOP lawmakers also cited paper ballot shortages during the November 2022 election, which they said were down to the failure of Harris County’s second-appointed elections administrator, Mr. Tatum, as reasoning for the legislation.“The Texas Constitution prohibits the Legislature from passing laws that apply to only one county and can never apply to other counties. That’s exactly what Senate Bill 1750 is because it abolishes the elections administrator office in only Harris County,” Mr. Menefee wrote in his lawsuit.
“Harris County is one of the most diverse counties in the state. We can’t and won’t allow legislators in Austin to target us to disrupt our elections and undermine our local officials. If people out there want to ignore the Constitution and allow far-right lawmakers to go after us in this way, Harris County residents deserve to know. We’ll see what the courts say,” he added.
‘Court Failed Harris County Residents’
However, the office of the Attorney General of Texas appealed the District Court’s order to the Texas Supreme Court, prompting Harris County to seek emergency relief from the Texas Supreme Court.“We first learned of today’s decision from media, instead of from the court itself,” he said. “From the start, Republican legislators pushed this law abolishing the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office to undermine local elections and score political points on the backs of the good people who run them.”
“By setting the law to go into effect September 1, and not passing a single law to assist in the transition or provide additional funding, Republican legislators are making the job of running this November’s election much more difficult. It was on the Texas Supreme Court to rein in these bad-faith lawmakers. The court failed Harris County residents.”
“This bill has always been about performance, not politics. I commend the Texas Supreme Court on their decision to restore voter trust, accountability and transparency in Harris County elections,“ Mr. Bettencourt said. ”September 1st was designed for an orderly transition and Harris County wasted a lot of time with this [temporary restraining order].”
While the court on Tuesday denied Harris County’s request for emergency relief against the legislation, it also set oral arguments in the state’s appeal of the initial trial court’s ruling for Nov. 28, indicating the matter is not yet over.
