With SB 1750 all but signed into state law1 — we look at the position that may re-absorb election oversight responsibilities: Harris County Clerk.
County Clerk
County government sits between state and local governments. County government is the functional arm of the state government.2 Like the county commissioners court, the office of county clerk originates in Article V of the state constitution. In each of Texas’ 254 counties, county clerks are elected to serve four-year terms.3
Teneshia Hudspeth serves her first full-length term as Harris County Clerk. Hudspeth was re-elected in November 2022.
Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth courtesy of Houston Chronicle
Record-keeper
For people who don’t live and breathe county government, there is some confusing language around this (and many) positions depending on the county’s population and structure. After speaking with Rosio Segura, deputy communications clerk for Harris County Clerk, here is a plainspoken breakdown of the office’s responsibilities as chief record-keeper:
- Main responsibilities: Marriage licenses, affidavits, depositions, deeds, guardianship records, and birth and death certificates all go through county clerk’s office
- County clerks oversee elections (in counties where the commissioners court has not created an elections administrator office)
- County clerks also oversee clerks in probate and civil courts (but not criminal courts in counties with a district clerk)
- “Harris County Clerk” is an elected position for example, but there are many “county clerks” or “county deputy clerks” that either report up to their county clerk or district clerk.
- Throughout the state government code, there are various offices and positions that all have to submit their records to their county’s clerk.4
November 2023 Elections
The Harris County Clerk’s office isn’t scheduled to have an election until 2026. The only item relevant to this November’s local elections is if Governor Abbott abolishes the elections administrator office in Harris County — and Hudspeth’s office has to oversee the 2023 elections. It’s not a presidential year, nor is it a congressional midterm year, so here’s hoping characteristically low voter turnout will lead to smooth sailing for elections oversight.
But nothing really for us to do as voters, aside from registering to vote!
Historical Context
Most large counties in Texas have created an office of elections administration, to keep this seasonal set of services separate from everything else the county clerk does. Harris County first did in 2020. Though the candidates are partisan, the responsibilities seem to be boilerplate functions in a democracy (i.e. No one cares about the political affiliation of your plumber). However, Harris County is the most populous county in the state. As far as elections go, the county has no one’s example to learn from (in Texas).
So elections in Harris County have always been fraught with some controversy, delays, or goofs:
| Harris County Clerk | Term | Controversy |
|---|---|---|
| Anita Rodeheaver (D)567 | 1979-1993 | Stopped dog from voting. First female Harris County Clerk. Recorded deeds with racial discrimination covenants, violated federal law. |
| Molly Pryor (?) | 1993-1994 | |
| Beverly Kaufmann (R)8 | 1994-2010 | Introduced electronic voting machines (no more punch cards). Threw away 29,000 votes. Fire destroyed all voting machines. |
| Stan Stanart (R)9 | 2011-2018 | History of reporting election results late. |
| Diane Trautman (D)1011 | 2019-2020 | Introduced county-wide voting. Long lines. 12 hour delay in election results. Equal number of voting machines to both parties. |
| Chris Hollins (D)11 | 2020 | Introduced drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting, and COVID finger condoms. First election ever with new Harris County Elections Administrator office. |
| Teneshia Hudspeth (D)12 | 2020-2026 | Paper ballot shortages. |
Note: some of this section seems to me like opinion. This may be moved to its own post to maintain some separation between my bias (in this case, for dogs) and proper “101”-style info-cational content.
Appendix: Sources
Texas Legislature Online - Senate Bill 1750 Relating to abolishing the county elections administrator position in certain counties ↩
Harris County Commissioners Court - What the #3©k is county government? ↩
Texas Legislature Online - Texas Constitution Article V Judicial Department Section 20 County Clerk ↩
Texas Legislature Online - Government Code Title II Judicial Branch Subtitle D Subtitle D Judicial Personnel and Officials Chapter 51 Clerks ↩
Texas Legislature Online (73R) - Senate Resolution 1038 (73R) In memory of Anita Rodeheaver ↩
New York Times - U.S. sues on racial bias already illegal in deeds ↩
Houston Chronicle - Harris County clerk says retirement is for good this time ↩
Texas Monthly - Why Political Junkies Are Frustrated By the Harris County Clerk ↩
Houston Public Media - Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman Resigns ↩
Texas Monthly - Drive-through Voting. 24-Hour Polling Places. Finger Condoms. Welcome to Election 2020 in Harris County. ↩ ↩2