The Texas Supreme Court ruled against Harris County on Tuesday and will allow Senate Bill 1750 to become law on September 1, meaning the county’s election administrator will not be permitted to run the November election.
The law requires all counties with populations exceeding 3.5 million to eliminate their appointed election administrator position, leaving the county clerk and the county tax assessor-collector to run elections, according to Democracy Docket.
As Harris County is the only county in Texas to exceed a population of 3.5 million, it will be the only one affected by the law once it is officially enacted.
Last month, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee filed a lawsuit alleging the law is unconstitutional since it only impacts one county, according to The Texas Tribune.
A ruling from Travis County District Judge Karin Crump last week temporarily blocked the law from going into effect, stating that it would result in “inefficiencies, disorganization, confusion, office instability, and increased costs to Harris County,” per The Texas Tribune.
The state chose to appeal the ruling with the Texas Supreme Court just hours later, leading to a pause of the lower court’s ruling.
Harris County then requested that the Supreme Court uphold the lower court’s order until the appeal process is complete. However, the request was denied, and the law is still set to go into effect at the beginning of next month, as reported by The Houston Chronicle.
As a result, County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth and Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett will be tasked with managing the upcoming election.
Menefee said in a statement that the Supreme Court has “failed Harris County residents” and the law will “undermine local elections.”
“I am disappointed that the Texas Supreme Court is quietly allowing the legislature to illegally target Harris County instead of considering the arguments and timely deciding whether Senate Bill 1750 violates the constitution. We first learned of today’s decision from media, instead of from the court itself,” he added in the statement.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R- Houston), who authored SB 1750, said in a statement that he was happy about the decision and added that “Harris County wasted a lot of time with this [temporary restraining order].”
“This bill has always been about performance, not politics. I commend the Texas Supreme Court on their decision to restore voter trust, accountability, and transparency in Harris County elections,” added Bettencourt.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the appeal on November 28, which is after the conclusion of the election.
