Harris County must return elections back to elected officials after TX Supreme Court decision

Senator Paul Bettencourt’s Senate Bill 1750 will go into effect on September 1, 2023 

Houston – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) commented favorably on the Texas Supreme  Court’s decision to deny Harris County’s emergency motion for temporary relief (TRO) regarding of the  implementation of Senate Bill 1750. “This bill has always been about performance not politics. I  commend the Texas Supreme Court on their decision to restore voter trust, accountability, and  transparency in Harris County elections,” stated Senator Bettencourt. “September 1st was designed  for an orderly transition and Harris County wasted a lot of time with this TRO.” He added.  

SB 1750 was drafted after serious election irregularities during the 2022 Harris County elections  managed by appointed Elections Administrators (EA). During the 2022 primary election the first appointed  EA “found” 10,000 votes and released a statement at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night that led to her  resignation. Then on November 8, 2022, Harris County’s second appointed EA failed to deliver enough  paper ballot sheets to allegedly 120 voting centers, as reported by KHOU despite having millions of paper  ballots available for distribution in an EA office warehouse.  

SB 1750 will return power and duties of the Harris County Elections Administrator to the County Tax  Assessor-Collector and County Clerk. Under SB 1750, the County Tax Assessor-Collector will serve as  the voter registrar and the election administration duties will revert to the County Clerk.  

SB 1750 will now go into effect September 1, 2023. 

“The oral arguments on the motion aren’t even scheduled until after the November election. Harris  County wasted the better part of the summer on this frivolous lawsuit. They need to follow the law  and make the transfer complete as of September 1st so that the election in November can be run  properly. They must transfer the duty of managing elections back to the elected County Clerk and  Tax Assessor-Collector now! Which is why the bill intended to give them the entire summer to  make this happen.” Concluded Senator Bettencourt.