(The Center Square) – Both the Office of the Attorney General and Harris County Attorney filed motions with the Texas Supreme Court to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the county seeking to block a law from going into effect requiring stronger oversight and management of elections.
Harris County sued in July over HB 1750, which Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, filed to address multiple election-related failures in Harris County and ensure the state’s largest counties properly manage elections. The bill passed during the regular legislative session and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. A judge in Austin blocked the law from going into effect on its slated date of Sept. 1.
However, on Tuesday, the Office of the Attorney General sought to overrule that ruling by filing a Notice of Accelerated Interlocutory Appeal with the Texas Supreme Court under Texas Government Code section 22.001(c). The filing stays the trial court’s ruling pending a decision by the Texas Supreme Court, the OAG says under its authority through Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 6.001(b) and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 29.1(b).
The OAG said because of its notice filed in the court, SB 1750 “is still scheduled to take effect September 1.”
“SB 1750 was signed into law this year after Harris County experienced multiple problems administering its elections, an issue that puts the integrity of Texas elections at risk and can undermine public trust in the political system by endangering the critical guarantee that every vote will be fairly counted,” the OAG said in a statement. “The law eliminates the Elections Administrator position in Harris County—an appointed position—and returns those powers to the Tax Assessor-Collector and the County Clerk, which are elected positions.”
The OAG also maintains the legislature had a reasonable basis to pass the law because Harris County is the most populous county in Texas, and “has an outsized statewide impact on elections, a consideration enhanced by the county’s past significant difficulty with election administration.”
In response, on Wednesday, Harris County filed a motion with the Texas Supreme Court seeking an emergency order requesting it to temporarily block the bill from going into effect.
“Senate Bill 1750 violates the Texas Constitution because it abolishes the elections administrator’s office in only Harris County and will never apply to another county. The law is set to go into effect in two weeks—we need the Texas Supreme Court to step in and protect the constitution,” Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said. “This is a rare instance where nearly everyone involved agrees that we need the Texas Supreme Court to tell us whether a law violates the constitution. Harris County, our elections administrator, our Democratic elected officials, and our local Republican Party are all asking for an answer to the same question. I hope the Texas Supreme Court tells us whether this law is constitutional.”
Harris County’s lawsuit is one of nearly two dozen lawsuits filed related to the November 2022 election. Republican judicial candidates and Houstonians filed multiple lawsuits arguing the Nov. 8, 2022 election was so poorly managed that “systematic and widespread violations of the Texas Election Code make the November 2022 election results unknowable.”
The judicial candidates have asked the judge presiding over their cases to call a new election. The other lawsuits call on the county to provide transparency.
Sen. Bettencourt calls Harris County’s lawsuit “frivolous.”
“The fact that the first Harris County appointed EA [Election’s Administrator] had to resign due to problems in the primary seems to escape any mention by the County Attorney and Commissioners Court in this lawsuit,” he said after the lawsuit was filed. “The current Harris County appointed EA has yet to provide a deposition in the 17 election contests so the public would finally know what happened in the Nov. 8, 2022, election. However, dozens of polling places running out of ballot paper and machine difficulties is no longer debatable. The question is WHY?”
Bettencourt said, “the public will be far better served by elected officials that followed the election code in the past, and will do so in future elections, thus regaining confidence of the voters in the elections process and that’s what SB 1750 is all about.”
