Texas governor sent bill abolishing position of Harris County elections chief

May 23, 2023, 6:11 PM

Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, left, listens as Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Moissouri City, rig...

Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, left, listens as Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Moissouri City, right, debates a voting bill at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Shaking up elections in Texas’ largest county, the GOP-controlled Legislature on Tuesday approved abolishing a position in Harris County that oversees more than 2 million voters around Houston months before the city chooses a new mayor.

At the same time, Republicans advanced a separate plan that would also have a singular impact on Harris County, a growing Democratic stronghold: allowing the state to take greater control over elections there if it is determined there is a “pattern of problems.”

The push by the state’s GOP majority resurfaced tensions over voting in the Texas Capitol, two years after Democratic lawmakers that also targeted Harris County.

At the center of proposed changes this time is last year’s elections in Harris County, where local officials have acknowledged problems that included paper ballot shortages and delayed poll openings. Republican candidates have challenged losses in races across the county. There has been no evidence that the issues affected the outcomes.

The elections were run by Harris County’s elections administrator, a position created by the county in 2020. The bill headed to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would return elections oversight in the county to the tax assessor and county clerk, which are both elected offices currently held by Democrats.

“It’s not working in Harris County after multiple attempts,” Republican state Rep. Briscoe Cain said of the county having an elections administrator.

The change would take effect Sept. 1. For more than an hour in the Texas House, Democrats raised concerns that would not give Harris County enough time to change oversight before November’s mayoral election and accused Republicans of singling out the county because it was shifting away from them.

“Your party loses elections, and you guys lose your mind,” Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson said.

The election bills approved in the House would not apply to any of Texas’ 253 other counties. The Senate must still give final approval this week to the other measure that could allow the Secretary of State to intervene in Houston elections after investigating complaints.

In Georgia two years ago, Republican state lawmakers included a provision that could ultimately allow the state to take over a county’s elections. It was promptly used to target Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, with a bipartisan review panel appointed in August 2021 to evaluate the county’s election processes.

Another bill advanced Tuesday puts Texas on a path to leave a nationwide program that has a demonstrated record of combating voter fraud but has become a target of suspicion among GOP activists and former President Donald Trump.

Texas for years has been part of the Electronic Registration Information Center, more commonly known as ERIC, a bipartisan effort among states to ensure accurate voting lists. Texas lawmakers are moving to instead replace ERIC with another system, which has has yet to be identified or proven to work.

Other GOP-states have also pulled out of ERIC in recent months, including Florida, Missouri, West Virginia, and Louisiana.

___

Associated Press reporter Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

United States News

FILE - Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., speaks at an ...

Associated Press

Carter and the Kings: A friendship and alliance — but after MLK’s assassination

ATLANTA (AP) — The voice of Martin Luther King Sr., a melodic tenor like his slain son, carried across Madison Square Garden, calming the raucous Democrats who had nominated his friend and fellow Georgian for the presidency. “Surely, the Lord sent Jimmy Carter to come on out and bring America back where she belongs,” the […]

22 hours ago

Last seasons plant stalks are seen at Seth Jacobs' marijuana planting field at his Slack Hollow far...

Associated Press

Slow start to New York’s legal pot market leaves farmers holding the bag

ARGYLE, N.Y. (AP) — Seth Jacobs has about 100 bins packed with marijuana flower sitting in storage at his upstate New York farm. And that’s a problem. There aren’t enough places to sell it. The 700 pounds (318 kilograms) of pungent flower was harvested last year as part of New York’s first crop of legally […]

22 hours ago

FILE - Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions con...

Associated Press

Wisconsin Republicans look for rebound, Democrats stay on offensive as 2024 fights loom

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin once again be a battleground. Democrats, recognizing that four of the past six presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point, are trying not to become overconfident in the face of recent gains. They are gathering for their annual state convention starting June 10 […]

22 hours ago

Associated Press

Michigan wildfire prompts evacuations, threatens multiple buildings

GRAYLING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A wildfire in Michigan burned more than 1,000 acres (1.5 square miles) and prompted emergency evacuations and road closures Saturday, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The wildfire located within Grayling Township, about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Grayling, is moving west and southwest and threatens multiple […]

22 hours ago

Associated Press

16 South American migrants who entered US through Texas flown to California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sixteen Venezuelan and Colombian migrants who entered the country through Texas were flown to California by chartered plane and dropped off outside a church in Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom and migrant rights advocates said Saturday. The young men and women were dropped off Friday outside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento […]

22 hours ago

Associated Press

Florida woman charged with child neglect after her car catches fire as she was allegedly shoplifting

OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman faces charges of aggravated child neglect and arson after her car became engulfed in flames while she was allegedly shoplifting at a mall, according to an arrest report. Alicia Moore, 24, parked her car in a parking lot outside a Dillard’s department store at Oviedo Mall on May […]

22 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Texas governor sent bill abolishing position of Harris County elections chief