Texas Supreme Court Allows Removal of Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office Ahead of November

A voter (R) shows his identification to a Harris County election clerk before voting in Houston, Texas, on July 14, 2020. David J. Phillip/AP Photo

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.

The ruling means Harris County Election Administrator Clifford Tatum’s job will effectively be abolished and his duties will be handed over to Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett ahead of the election, according to the Houston Press.

Tuesday’s court ruling centered around Senate Bill 1750, which was passed by Republican lawmakers in May, and is set to go into effect on Sept. 1.

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.

Advocates have argued the legislation was needed following “serious election irregularities” during the 2022 Harris County elections managed by appointed elections administrators.

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.

Ms. Longoria later resigned.

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.

However, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee filed a lawsuit against the legislation in July, challenging its constitutionality and arguing it abolishes the nonpartisan elections administrator office in Harris County only and no other county in Texas.

“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.

The county later filed an emergency motion with the court seeking temporary relief to prevent the implementation of the new state law, arguing that the move may impact the upcoming elections.

Travis County District Judge Karin Crump granted that temporary injunction barring the law from taking effect last week, ruling the legislation was unconstitutional and “designed to deprive Harris County of a statutory right available to every other county in Texas.”

‘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.

In an Aug. 22 statement, Mr. Menefee said he was “disappointed that the Texas Supreme Court is quietly allowing the legislature to illegally target Harris County, instead of considering the arguments and timely deciding whether Senate Bill 1750 violates the constitution.”

“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.”

Meanwhile, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, (R- Houston) who proposed Senate Bill 1750, welcomed the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in a statement on Aug. 22.

“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.