HOUSTON — Harris County has filed a lawsuit against Texas officials to challenge the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1750, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced Thursday.
The law, which passed in June, eliminates the appointed election administrator position and transfers duties back to the two elected county leaders who previously handled them but only in Harris County and no other county in Texas.
Menefee told KHOU 11 in May the Texas Constitution does not let state lawmakers pass a bill targeting just one city or county.
The bill’s author, Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, said the bill provides oversight for any future election problems.
SB 1750 will go into effect on Sept. 1, just weeks before early voting in the November 2023 elections in Harris County. Those elections will include statewide constitutional amendments, countywide bond propositions, and municipal races for the City of Houston, including the mayoral seat.
“The Texas Constitution prohibits the Legislature from passing laws that apply to only one county and can never apply to other counties. That’s exactly what Senate Bill 1750 is because it abolishes the elections administrator office in only Harris County,” said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. “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. 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.”
Harris County will seek a court order temporarily blocking SB 1750 from going into effect, which would allow the county’s elections administrator to manage elections and voter registration until the courts reach a final decision in the case, the DA’s office said. The county will immediately request the hearing to take place sometime in the next few weeks.
