Fight regarding State of Texas election law rages on in Harris County

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — It’s been a whirlwind afternoon for the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 1750, which would alter control of elections in Harris County beginning Sept. 1.

The law would take power from the elections administrator and return it to the Harris County Clerk and Tax Assessor. That’s how it was before the creation of the administrator position in 2020.

The law only applies to counties with 3.5 million people on Sept. 1, 2023, and Harris County is the only one that falls under those guidelines.

County leaders have been fighting the implementation of the law and had temporarily succeeded in having it stopped Tuesday when a judge in Travis County ruled in their favor.

“This is a big win for local officials across the state,” Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said.

He spoke those words just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, and less than two hours later, the Texas Attorney General’s Office announced they had appealed the ruling all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.

That appeal usurped the earlier decision in Harris County’s favor.

The state’s appeal was a move that Menefee and the Harris County Attorney’s Office knew was coming.

The result means the law is back on its implementation schedule, and the Harris County Attorney’s Office will have to ask again to have it stopped. Should the Supreme Court rule in the state’s favor or not hear the case at all, the law will go into effect as planned on the first day of next month.

So, what impact would that have on Harris County voters?

“The public shouldn’t be worried that they’re impacted at all,” Menefee said in response to that question.

Here’s why Menefee said the county is putting time and effort into stopping the law despite those comments.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office, while announcing Tuesday’s appeal to the Supreme Court, said issues during midterms in Harris County last year put “the integrity of Texas elections at risk” and required the necessity of the law as a result.

Those included things like malfunctioning voting machines, paper jams, and long lines.

“State legislators shouldn’t be able to exaggerate issues in the county for partisan purposes and then go and violate the Texas constitution,” Menefee said. “This fight is much bigger than this law. It’s about reigning in misguided legislators in Austin.”