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🚨 TX Senate bill to suspend county elections administrator

Posted May 22, 2023 Updated May 28, 2023
By A.K. Rowling
9 min read

Updates

May 23, 2023, 2p

After a cordial conversation with Sen. Bettencourt’s District Director in Houston, Elizabeth Stinsman, I sent over a few thought-out questions:

  • What’s the story on why the position of Elections Administrator created in the first place?
    • County Elections Administrator was created nearly 40 years ago in 1985, when Houston’s William P. Hobby, Jr. served as Lt. Governor. Before we talk about getting rid of it or who can fire whom, I thought it worthwhile to understand why the 69th Texas Legislature created it to begin with.
  • Why does this bill only empower the Secretary of State to only fire the Elections Administrator? Why not all election officials?

When I asked the same questions to Sen. Whitmire’s office, I learned that SB 823 among many, many other bills from the Texas Legislature, probably wouldn’t be voted on this year as the end of the main legislative session approaches — with Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, and House Speaker Phelan seeking to avoid forcing the Legislature to meet again this year.

For now it seems we can forget about SB 823 because if SB 1750 passes, the Elections Administrator position is abolished for any county with at least 3.5 million people. Harris County is the only such county in Texas.

Original Post

Texas Senate Bill 823

would expand the powers of the Texas Secretary of State, allowing the office to fire a county’s Elections Administrator and appoint a replacement.1 The bill’s author is State Senator Paul Bettencourt, a Republican from northwest Houston representing Texas Senate District 72. He authored the bill after reports of paper ballot shortages and voting machine failures in Harris County during the November 2022 elections.

Currently

Since the introduction of the position to the Texas Constitution in 1985, hiring and firing a county’s Elections Administrator (EA) is controlled solely by the county.

Specifically, the County Commissioners Court (CCC) can decide to create the position of EA. Then, the County Election Commission (CEC) appoints / hires someone. The EA can be removed with 4 out of 5 votes from the CEC and a simple majority of the CCC. The position can also be abolished by the CCC, with elections responsibilities falling to the County Clerk and voter registration to the County Tax Assessor-Collector.3

Relationship with Texas Secretary of State

From the Texas Constitution3:

The secretary of state shall assist and advise all election authorities with regard to the application, operation, and interpretation of this code and of the election laws outside this [Texas Election Code].

The secretary shall maintain an informational service for answering inquiries of election authorities relating to the administration of the election laws or the performance of their duties.

The secretary of state may take appropriate action to protect the voting rights of the citizens of this state from abuse by the authorities administering the state ’s electoral processes.

The secretary of state may order a person performing official functions in the administration of any part of the electoral processes to correct offending conduct if the secretary determines that the person is exercising the powers vested in that person in a manner that impedes the free exercise of a citizen ’s voting rights.

If a person described … fails to comply with an order from the secretary of state under this section, the secretary may seek enforcement of the order by a temporary restraining order or a writ of injunction or mandamus obtained through the attorney general.

TLDR; The secretary mostly helps election authorities answer questions and understand rules, but if there is voter rights abuse, the secretary can order any election authority to stop and change their behavior, including county Election Administrators. If they don’t, then the secretary can work with the Texas Attorney General to get a court order and enforcement.

Impact

This bill as law would alter the relationship between the Texas Secretary of State’s office and county Elections Administrators (EAs). Unlike today, the secretary would be able to directly fire a county EA after recurring incidents, and unilaterally appoint a replacement — without the delays and diligence of collaborating with the Texas Attorney General, Texas courts, and County Commissioners Court.

This bill would affect 132 of the 254 counties4 in Texas who have an EA, including: Harris (Houston), Fort Bend (Sugar Land / Richmond), Waller (Hempstead), Montgomery (Conroe), Bexar (San Antonio), Tarrant (Fort Worth), Collin (McKinney), Dallas, Denton, Hidalgo (Edinburg), El Paso, Williamson (Georgetown), Cameron (Brownsville), and Lubbock Counties.5

Questions

  • What is the cost and benefit of giving the governor-appointed Secretary of State the power to fire or suspend a county-appointed Elections Administrator?
  • Can the secretary fire an EA today (in collaboration with the Attorney General’s office and a state court order)?
  • Why not give the secretary the power to fire any election authority; why just the EA?
  • Did the Secretary of State work with the Attorney General to get a court order after the November 2022 elections?
  • How would things have played out if this was a law during the November 2022 elections?

Context

11/8/22 — November 2022 Election Day, Houston Chronicle reports at least a dozen or more voting centers had paper ballot shortages, implying people were unable to vote6

1/30/23 — KHOU 11 investigation reports: (1) 121 voting centers in Harris County had paper ballot shortages (out of 782), and (2) 52 centers received fewer paper ballots in 2022 than in 20187

1/31/23 — Governor Abbott8 and Sen. Bettencourt (R-Houston)9 retweet KHOU’s report and figures, calling for new laws so “Harris County can never do this again”

2/10/23 — Sen. Bettencourt files SB 823 in the Texas Legislature

4/6/23 — SB 823 passes out of Senate Committee on State Affairs 8-2

4/20/23 — Houston Chronicle investigation reports: (1) 20 voting centers ran out of paper for 15 minutes to 3 hours, and (2) centers received fewer paper ballots in 2022 than in 2018 because Harris County started allowing people to vote anywhere in the county instead of just their home location, implying people were able to vote1011.

I have seen two discussion points (a.k.a. opinion): (1) since 1985 counties with more people tend to have an appointed Elections Administrator, while counties with fewer people tend to split election oversight between their County Clerk and County Tax Assessor-Collector offices; and (2) in addition to property tax assessment and collection, the reason the County Tax Assessor-Collector historically also served as voter registrar, was to collect poll taxes from formerly enslaved new voters.

SB 823’s author, Sen. Bettencourt (R-Houston) served as Harris County’s Tax Assessor-Collector for ten years until 2008, before Harris County Commissioners

Appendix: Glossary

3121314151617

County Clerk
Elected official who serves as county-wide record keeper of properties, marriages, births, deaths, County Commissioners Court, and county judicial courts. Also serves as chief election officer, supported by either the county’s Elections Administrator or the Tax Assessor-Collector.
County Commissioners Court
Executive local arm of the state government comprised of four Precinct Commissioners and one County Judge. 254 counties in Texas, one commissioners court for each. Provides safety, justice, emergency management, and health and safety services. Also holds elections, registers voters, collects property taxes, registers vehicles. Can decide to create or abolish the position of County Elections Administrator.
County Election Commission
Group of elected and political party officials responsible for appointing a County Elections Administrator. Comprised of County Judge, County Clerk, County Tax Assessor-Collector, County chair of each political party. Est. 1985.
County Elections Administrator
Appointed official who oversees a county’s elections and voter registration. Supports County Clerk. 132 out of 254 counties in Texas have an Elections Administrator (while the remaining 122 split election and voter registration duties between the County Clerk and County Tax-Assessor Collector positions). Est. 1985 (when Houston’s William P. Hobby, Jr. was Lietenent Governor18).
County Tax Assessor-Collector
Elected official who assesses property to determine tax rate, and collects county-wide taxes. Supports County Clerk as voter registrar in counties without Elections Administrator. Est. 1876.
Texas Attorney General
Top lawyer for the state. Represents Texas in cases at the Texas Supreme Court. Can help Secretary of State get a court order for correcting voting rights abuses by election administration officials. Est. 1876.
Texas House of Representatives
Texas Legislature’s lower chamber comprised of 150 State Representatives each representing over 167,000 Texans. Est. 1876.
Texas Legislature
Group of elected lawmakers who meet in Austin every odd-numbered year. Comprised of two chambers: the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. Est. 1876.
Texas Secretary of State
One of six executive positions in Texas state government. Appointed by the Governor (the other five are elected). Serves as the chief election officer of the state. Est. 1876.
Texas Senate
Texas Legislature’s higher chamber comprised of 31 State Senators each representing over 811,000 Texans. Est. 1876.

Appendix: Sources

  1. Texas Legislature Online - SB 823 ↩

  2. Texas Tribune - TX SD 7 ↩

  3. Texas Legislature Online - Election Code Title 3 Chapter 31 Officers to Administer Elections ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Texas Tribune - “Two GOP legislators in Harris County want to let the state replace local elections administrators” ↩

  5. Texas Secretary of State - County Voter Registration Officials ↩

  6. Houston Chronicle — As hundreds waited to vote in Houston, a dozen-plus polling sites ran out of ballot sheets ↩

  7. KHOU 11 - Election ballot paper shortage bigger than estimated ↩

  8. Twitter - @GregAbbott_TX ↩

  9. Twitter - @TeamBettencourt ↩

  10. Houston Chronicle — GOP leaders say Harris County’s ballot shortage was targeted at Republicans. Here’s what the data says ↩

  11. Houston Chronicle — No, 121 Harris County polling places did not run out of ballot paper ↩

  12. Texas Legislature Online - About ↩

  13. Texas Legislature Online - Texas Constitution Article 3 Legislative Department ↩

  14. Texas Legislature Online - Texas Constitution Article 4 Executive Department ↩

  15. Texas Association of Counties - About ↩

  16. Texas Legislature Online - Election Code Title 2 Chapter 51 Clerks ↩

  17. Texas Legislature Online - Texas Consitution Article 8 Taxation & Revenue ↩

  18. Legislative Reference Library of Texas - William Pettus Hobby, Jr. ↩

sb 823 texas legislature texas senate harris county elections administrator paul bettencourt harris county tax assessor-collector harris county commissioners court harris county judge harris county election commission harris county clerk harris county democratic party harris county republican party william p. hobby jr. texas house of representatives texas legislature online tlo texas tribune city of houston fort bend county city of sugar land city of richmond waller county city of hempstead montgomery county city of conroe bexar county city of san antonio tarrant county city of fort worth collin county city of mckinney dallas county city of dallas denton county city of denton hidalgo county city of edinburg el paso county city of el paso williamson county city of georgetown cameron county city of brownsville lubbock county city of lubbock
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