Texas GOP Passes Bills Focusing on Election Administration

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Facts

  • The majority-Republican Texas state legislature on Sunday passed several bills to increase penalties for illegal voting and expand state oversight of local elections, specifically in the Democrat-dominated Harris County. They will now head to Gov. Greg Abbott's office for his signature.1
  • One bill, called SB 1933, would authorize the Texas Secretary of State to "order administrative oversight" of a county elections office for complaints surrounding or cause to believe there’s an ongoing series of election administration or voter registration issues.2
  • Another bill may lead Texas to withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center, which was formed in 2012 to help states maintain accurate voter rolls, identify instances of potential fraud, and contact people so they can register to vote. Over half of US states belong to the association.3
  • Also under SB 1750 — passed by the Texas House last week along party lines — the law would eliminate the position of elections administrator in counties with a population of more than 3.5M. This would affect Harris County, which has a population of over 4M.2
  • The laws, which will take effect before Houston's mayoral election this fall, will allow Sec. of State Jane Nelson, appointed by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, to oversee county office holders — such as clerks and assessors — in more than 250 counties during both the upcoming election and the 2024 presidential election.3
  • Top officials in Harris County have vowed to challenge in court both laws which they allege are targeted at them.1

Sources: 1New York Times, 2CNN, and 3Washington Post.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Guardian. The Texas GOP is using election lies to win political points with its base and take control of the state's largest Democratic district. With little evidence of any election fraud in recent years, Gov. Abbott and his hand-picked Secretary of State are trying to throw Harris County into disarray just before it holds its mayoral election — and then give themselves the power to "oversee" what they deem is potential voter fraud. This is a dangerous power grab that violates Texas' Constitution and the sovereignty of its local election officers.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by The Texas Senate. These laws are not power grabs but rather a reasonable response to Harris County election administrators' failure to send out millions of ballots to voters by election day 2022. If the Democrats wish to discuss voter suppression, they should think about how their election officers failed to provide the physical ballots necessary for Texans to cast their votes. The legislature has the power and the duty to ensure its constituents' voting rights are not at the mercy of incompetent, if not malicious, local politicians.