Suspect sought in fatal shooting of ex-girlfriend in NW Harris County,... District B election set for Dec. 12, nearly a year after its original date, Houston to spend $4.1 million for police OT, SpaceCom begins conference — but it's virtual this year, Woman hit by car and killed while walking in Memorial area, Man hit and killed by car in East Houston area. If a vacancy is created between elections, they are appointed by the Governor. Hollins’ decision to hire Stevens was celebrated by Democrats, who view her as an ally in their efforts to increase voting accessibility and turnout. ©2018 All Rights Reserved Harris County Clerk's Office. See the latest trends on COVID-19 in Harris County. ", "The State of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections," the state’s top Republican, Gov. Lovely Washington cheers aboard a MetroLift vehicle after casting her ballot in Houston. In August, both the Harris County Republican Party and the Texas attorney general’s office filed legal challenges to Hollins’ plans to send mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter, arguing that it invited ballot harvesting and would encourage ineligible voters to put false information on their applications in order to qualify. Greg Abbott, said after issuing a recent proclamation aimed at Harris and Travis counties that forced them to shut down multiple drop-off locations for absentee ballots. Commissioners had already approved $12 million — tripling the budget for the 2016 elections — in April to help with mail-in voting expansion as voters became increasingly concerned about catching the virus at the polls and large Texas counties joined the call to expand mail-in voting. “If you look at [election results] for Harris County, you see a very clear trend,” Hollins said. With Harris County slipping from its grasp, the GOP’s road to political safety in Texas and beyond grows more perilous as Democratic candidates from the top to the bottom of the ballot siphon more and more votes from the county's 2.4 million registered voters. He is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Judicial Mentor. Powell says she didn't mind the hour wait in line because "it's time for my voice to be heard. As the local filing authority, I am pleased to make available to county officeholders and candidates the forms needed to comply with campaign and financial disclosure laws. 439Houston, TX 77002Voting By Mail1 NRG PkwyHouston, TX 77054, ADA Coordinator: Rachel BrownAugust 2020 Subject Matter Expert Public Report (713) 755-6965 ada@cco.hctx.net, 1001 Preston, 4th Floor, Rm. Election 2020 Harris County Tried To Make Voting Easier During The Pandemic. Postal Service. Here’s What You Need To Know, Harris County Tried To Make Voting Easier During The Pandemic. Paxton and others have insisted in court filings, as have GOP state lawmakers who have supported other measures limiting voters' options, that their efforts are not partisan but rather in the interest of election integrity. They oversee criminal and civil cases. "As Texas goes, so too will the rest of the country. Appeal court judges are appointed by the Governor to serve a 6 year term. Appointed by Governor Jeb Bush. Correction: A previous version of this story said NRG Stadium would serve as Harris County's election headquarters. For this reason, I encourage you to contact us if you have a question, need assistance or have a suggestion. Since Hollins' June appointment, he and Houston elections officials have launched a robust effort to expand voter access. The Judicial Nominating Commission for the Supreme Court includes 9 members. Despite warnings from election security experts and an acknowledgment by past Republican and Democratic county clerks that new machines were needed, Harris County failed to follow the state’s other urban counties in doing so before 2020. Placed in the hands of a com-mon or contract carrier properly addressed with postage and handling charges prepaid and bears a postmark, or receipt mark, of a common or contract carrier indicating a time on or before the deadline. Harris County Administration Building1001 Preston, 4th Floor, Rm. In addition, county officeholders, candidates and some county department heads are required to file a personal financial statement. Harris County may shatter turnout records with as many as 1.5 million voters in this year’s presidential election, the county clerk estimates. While Harris County has seen its share of election mishaps the past two decades — including perennially slow results, misallocated machines and even a mis-called race — the eSlates never have malfunctioned on a large scale. Follow him on Twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com. In addition to the influx, there also are concerns about delays from the U.S. County Commissioner, Precinct 1. Harris County residents wait in line at the Bayland Community Center in Houston on the first day of early voting . County School Trustee, Position 5, At Large. PRIVACY POLICY The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court scuttled that vote-by-mail expansion effort in June. Texas is one of just a few states that hasn’t opened up mail-in voting to any voter concerned about getting COVID-19 at a polling place. Requests for interviews with Harris County GOP officials, including Chairman Keith Nielsen and several precinct chairpersons, and the Republican Party of Texas were not answered. Voters choose to keep the Justice or to remove them from office. There is a Judicial Nominating Commission for the each of the circuit courts. Then Hollins announced plans in September to send mail-in ballot applications to the county's 2.4 million registered voters. It records votes on a mobile memory card which then is brought to a central counting site, uploaded onto a computer and tallied. “If President Trump loses Texas, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to be reelected.”. ‍. For additional information please review our Privacy Policy and our Accessibility Statement. There are documented cases of voter fraud in Texas, including recent highly publicized arrests in Gregg County and Carrollton, but they are rare and have been small-scale efforts to manipulate local elections. In 2018, a few said that a sticky wheel function caused them to mistakenly select the wrong candidate. Who Won The Battle Of The Dueling Town Halls? The filing deadline for this election was December 9, 2019. Appointed by Governor Jeb Bush. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are exhibiting symptoms, consider requesting an emergency mail-in ballot or using curbside voting. In 1997 he was an adjunct professor at UCF, teaching a course in legal research. Texas Republicans Fought Every Step Of The Way, Texas Counties Can Offer Only One Drop-Off Ballot Location, Federal Appeals Court Rules, Upholding Gov. In 2008, nearly 600,000 Democratic votes were cast in the presidential election in Harris County, edging out Republican votes for the first time in recent history. Local political observers agree the writing is on the wall: Most of Houston’s residents are people of color, its local leaders are Democrats, and it is the fastest-growing county in the state, according to recent census data. Updated: 11 AM. "He’s thinking outside the box, and maybe that’s what this kind of work needed.”. Voters can cast ballots at any polling location in the county where they are registered to vote during early voting. In 2017 he won the Best Feature award from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for his feature on Venezuelan corruption in Houston and Miami. But Republican activists, party officials and state leaders have voted against local initiatives, sought injunctions and filed multiple lawsuits to halt the unprecedented effort in Harris County. Then each panel member votes by secret ballot for the best candidate in each race. He acknowledged there is no way to perform a manual audit of the eSlates, but said county residents should trust them for one more cycle. Harris County has already received nearly a quarter of a million absentee ballot requests. When Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman resigned in May, the commissioners on a party-line vote appointed Hollins, vice chairman of finance for the Texas Democratic Party and a local personal injury lawyer, to serve on an interim basis until her successor is elected in November. Now is the chance to help your local community succeed. "Despite all of the attempts to walk back and suppress the efforts that Harris County has taken to make sure that all voters have access, this will be more access than voters have ever had in Harris County, because of the initiatives that the clerk's office has put forward and that have been supported by county leadership," Stevens said. “As we work to preserve Texans' ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state.". Find a complete list of them here. In September, a cadre of statewide Republican politicians and party leaders sued to stop Abbott’s order allowing early voting to start a week early, on Oct. 13, to combat long lines and crowds during the pandemic.