Texas’ most populous county – Harris County, which is home to Houston – has filed a lawsuit against state officials challenging the constitutionality of a new law that eliminates the position of local elections administrator, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee announced Thursday.
Menefee, a Democrat, said his team is seeking a court order to temporarily block the law, known as SB 1750, from going into effect on September 1, allowing the county’s elections administrator to continue to manage elections and voter registration until a final decision is reached in the case.
“Harris County is one of the most diverse counties in the state. We can’t and won’t allow legislators in Austin to target us to disrupt our elections and undermine our local officials,” Menefee said in a press release. “If people out there want to ignore the constitution and allow far-right lawmakers to go after us in this way, Harris County residents deserve to know. We’ll see what the courts say.”
Acting state Attorney General John Scott and Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, both Republicans, were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Under the new law, the Harris County elections administrator’s duties will be transferred to the county tax assessor-collector and county clerk. The elections administrator, a position created in 2020, is appointed by the county’s election commission, which is Democratic-controlled. The county’s current tax assessor-collector and clerk are both Democrats.
The law is one of two measures enacted by state Republicans that target the elections process in Harris County. The other law, SB 1933, authorizes the Texas secretary of state – an appointee of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott – to “order administrative oversight” of a county elections office if, for instance, a complaint is filed or there’s cause to believe there’s a recurring pattern of problems involving election administration or voter registration.