Texas governor threatens state takeover of Houston elections

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) threatened Houston with a state takeover of its elections on Thursday — an escalation of long-simmering GOP threats to gain control of voting in the fourth-largest city in the United States.  

“They should be stripped of operating elections and state officials should take over. Potential legal charges should also be considered,” Abbott wrote on social media, calling Harris County a “repeat violator of election integrity.” 

Abbott was reacting after a complaint by a GOP state lawmaker alleged voters were unlawfully registered using commercial post office box addresses. But elections in Harris County, home to Houston, have been a top focus of Texas Republicans for years.

In a comment to Democracy Docket, Lesley Briones, a Democrat who serves on the five-member county governing body known as commissioners court, pushed back on Abbott’s claims.

“Harris County is committed to the integrity of our voter rolls and has been diligent about following the law — a fact that has been acknowledged by the Texas Secretary of State. Governor Abbott either doesn’t understand this issue, or he is intentionally misrepresenting the law in his continued efforts to undermine our democracy and erode our voting rights,” she said. “Texans deserve better. Harris County is dedicated to operating with the fairness, transparency, and excellence our democracy deserves.”

In 2023, Texas passed a measure allowing the state to order “administrative oversight” of local elections offices. The law applies only to counties with a population of more than four million – in other words, just Harris County. 

Republicans now appear to be taking steps to activate their oversight mechanism for the first time. Under the law, administrative oversight could be ordered by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, a former Republican state senator who was appointed by Abbott in 2023. 

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R), the author of the state takeover legislation, submitted a complaint to the Secretary of State’s office in November, alleging more than 100 voter registrations were found at Houston UPS locations. 

“No voter lives in a private P.O. Box, and that address can not be used as the voter’s primary registration address,” Bettencourt wrote. 

The complaint did not allege that any illegitimate votes were cast.

But the issue isn’t new — or limited to Harris County. An audit report of the 2020 Texas election found voters registered at commercial mailbox locations across the state, including 687 voters in Harris County, 329 in Dallas County, 320 in Tarrant County and 35 in Collin County.

In November, Nelson’s office sent a letter to the Harris County voter registration office giving notice that the complaint could trigger administrative oversight under the 2023 law. 

“If we find reason to believe the Harris County voter registrar is failing to protect voter rolls or is not operating in the good faith Texans deserve, we will not hesitate to take the next step toward state oversight,” Nelson said in a November press release. 

Nelson’s office sent a follow up letter to Harris County’s voter registrar on Dec. 23 acknowledging that the county made “diligent and timely efforts” to respond to the complaint by contacting the identified voters to begin verifying their residency. 

State takeovers aren’t an idle threat in Houston, where Republican state leaders often clash with Democratic local officials. The state took over Houston’s public school district in 2023.

This story has been updated with additional information.