Texas Bill Abolishing Harris County Election Position Heads to Governor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, May 23, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 1750, a bill that would abolish the election administrator position in Harris County, the state’s most populous county. Now that the bill has passed both chambers, it goes to Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) desk for his signature.
S.B. 1750 would eliminate the election administrator position — an appointed position that handles election administration on behalf of the county government — in counties with a population of 3.5 million or more. Houston’s Harris County is the only county in the state with this many people. Instead, election duties would return to the elected county clerk and the county tax assessor, depriving Harris County residents of the ability to choose how to run their elections, a right given to every other county in the state.
S.B. 1750 is just one of several bills aimed at Harris County after Republicans claimed that they were the targets of Election Day problems during the 2022 midterms, a contention the data does not support. The Texas Senate has also approved a bill allowing the state to order new elections in Harris County (and only Harris County), while other bills would allow state officials to take over election administration in any county.