Dima Ghazala, 2023 Harris Fellows, Harris County Clerk's Office, Teneshia Hudspeth
August 14, 2023

Harris County is characteristically unique among counties in Texas due to being the state’s largest county and being electorally blue in a largely red sea. Concerns have been raised in the Texas Legislature about the manner in which such a large county conducts its elections. The Republican concerns have been heightened with the numerous red-turned-blue seats in presidential elections since 2008 and midterm elections since 2018 in Harris County.

Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, signed two new bills with clear intent to monitor the voting patterns and election practices of Harris County. The first bill (SB 1750)  abolishes the election administrator position in counties with populations of 3.5 million. The population of Harris County is roughly 4.7 million and is the only county of  Texas' 254 counties that is impacted by the law. The Harris County Commissioners Court established the Elections Administrator's (EA) office on November 19, 2020 to manage the elections throughout the county. This includes tasks such as overseeing voter registration, working with political parties to coordinate important elections staffing functions, tally and report election results and publish and maintain election records, develop an election administration plan, and more. Previous to the creation of the EA’s office the conduct of elections was in the County Clerk’s Office and voter registration was in the Tax Assessor’s office. The Harris County Commissioners Court reasoned that both functions under one office rather than divided among two different offices would be beneficial to the public. The second bill (SB 1933) states that any county with a population of over 4 million may be subject to administrative oversight of elections if proof is provided that there is a recurring problem and/or infringement on the county’s constituents’ voting rights.  Democrats believe the increased inspection is an attack on their constituents; whereas Republicans argue they are protecting their constituents’ votes in the county who are not being represented.

The unique nature of Harris County electorate can be placed in perspective by understanding its voting age population within the county’s incorporated cities, specifically regarding the White population. The White race population is the majority in 21 of the 34 cities in the county. However, the big asterisk is this: the population in those 21 cities only accounts for 5.2% of registered voters in the county (De Leon). The White vote is crucial to the Republican Party even though it no longer makes up a majority of Harris County’s electorate. Data shows that when minorities are compelled to go vote, the Harris County electorate is more reflective of its demographics which is majority minority. For that reason, minority groups make up the majority vote in a red state’s largest county. It is likely that these two new bills passed by the Texas Legislature will not change election trends or results in Harris County in the near future. However, the scrutiny placed on Harris County by the bills create a mechanism to question and undermine the Harris County Election process and facilitate the state taking over the election office.

Each party has a Goliath to face with the implementation of the two new bills. Those who sit in Austin have a harsh reality to face about the true demographics of the voting population in Harris County and what that means for the reach of the Republican Party in Texas. On the other hand, the bills passed by the Texas Legislature have created a challenge for the Harris County Clerk’s Office, as it now has to adapt and reincorporate elections into its core functions. The good news is that the current County Clerk is a former elections official with vast experience under both Democratic and Republican County Clerks and is well-equipped to apply non-partisan strategies in order to execute a successful election.

Even with the implementation of these bills, voters of Harris County should not be discouraged from casting a ballot in local, state, and federal elections. Their unique voices must continue to be heard to ensure the power of Harris County is felt in Texas and throughout the nation. Visit harrisvotes.com for more information on how you can make sure your voice is heard.

 
The content and opinions expressed on this webpage are solely the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Houston or the Hobby School of Public Affairs. 

 

https://www.hectordeleon.com/will-increased-registered-voter-population-in-last-decade-in-cities-within-harris-county-manifest-in-2022-primary-elections/