Breaking Down Institutional Barriers to Voting

Harris County, TX

Population: 3-5,000,000 | Government type: County| Topic: Invest Divest

A drive-thru for voters at the Houston Food Bank (Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle)

The Program

Harris County faces a number of challenges to running fair and democratic elections. It has a total population of 4.8 million, a significant proportion of which is made up of Hispanic, Black, and low-income residents. Traditionally, the county clerk's office runs elections, while the tax assessor's office is responsible for voter registration. Administering directives and making systematic changes across two departments with a multitude of duties is difficult at the best of times.

Over the summer of 2020, Commissioner Rodney Ellis’s Office led an analysis of the current election structure. This resulted in the proposal of creating a single department solely dedicated to administering elections and registering voters. The Harris County Board approved the consolidation by a 3–2 vote and is now moving forward with creating the Elections Administration Office, which is intended to directly address the issues that county communities face in participating in the democratic process. With an independent department and staff dedicated solely to administering elections, Harris County hopes to combat misinformation, help residents vote safely, and significantly expand access to the ballot. 

While this department was created after the November General Election, it will be able to build on the lessons learned in 2020. The County heavily invested in this particular election to ensure the safety of voters by increasing voting sites, hours, and staff, which paid off seeing as an unprecedented 1.65 million people in the County turned out to vote.

Collaborative Governance

Building on the historic turnout in the November 2020 election, this office hopes to increase access to the polls by listening and responding to the community residents. The creation of this office was a result of extensive community input detailing the experiences that so many face at the polls—from having names purged from voter rolls and worrying that their vote won't count, to not having voter registration available in high schools (despite it being required in Texas), to long lines at polling places in working-class communities. By giving this office a singular mission, the Board aims to shift power away from institutions for which voting and elections are of relatively little importance. 

Ellis’ Office worked with a variety of groups on this initiative including Houston NAACP, Houston Justice Coalition, Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation (AFL-CIO), Texas Civil Rights Project, Mi Familia Vota of Texas, and LULAC.  There were initially three different proposals for what the office would look like and how the transition would work. After coordinating in their messaging and testimony, the groups determined that an entirely new and independent office was the only way to go. This coalition of advocates believes that this nonpartisan office will enable more fair elections by increasing voter registration, protecting voting rights, and professionalizing elections administration. 

In terms of politics, it was clear that support for this proposal would be divided along party lines. The opposition, specifically Republican commissioners and the Harris County Republican Party Representative, argued that it would create an unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers, though they did little to argue against the merits of the office and its mission. The coalition played a critical role, as trusted voices in the community, to frame this office as essential to ensuring increased voter participation.

Emphasis on equity

The question of why the tax assessor’s office is responsible for voter registration goes back to the early 20th century. At that point, at the height of the Jim Crow laws, tax assessors were responsible for collecting the poll tax, which was primarily a means of disenfranchising Black voters. The creation of an independent elections office is a long-overdue first step in dismantling this antiquated and racist system. 

The new elections office will have staff dedicated to identifying patterns of voter suppression. It will focus resources on addressing those issues which disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities including purged voter rolls, long lines, and closed polling locations. Harris County is the fastest-growing county in Texas and the third-largest in the country.  The office will strive to increase voter registration to match Harris County’s population boom, which significantly increased the number of eligible voters in the county. 

The Harris County Clerk’s Office has regularly struggled to post-election results in a timely fashion, and the March 2020 Primary was plagued by long lines and misallocated voting machines. Two years ago, The Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office mistakenly placed more than 1,700 voters in suspension and later failed to properly update a voting district’s boundaries.  The highest number of challenges were filed for a zip code in downtown Houston, which has a large homeless population.  Suspension occurs when the voter’s registration certificate has been returned as non-deliverable, a Jury Summons is returned as non-deliverable, or any mailing that was sent to the voter was returned as non-deliverable. Residents can still vote with a provisional ballot, but they do not receive that information when they are notified of the suspension. It creates distrust in the system.

Texas already struggles with voter engagement, voting access, and voter turnout. A myriad of tactics are used to incite fear, spread misinformation, and keep working-class communities—which disproportionately include people of color— from the polls. The county believes that having a dedicated office with clear directives can help right some of these wrongs.

Analysis

• It is not uncommon for the state of Texas to get involved in local elections, however, election administration is typically - at least usually - a county-level responsibility. 

• Local government dynamics: Harris County is one of the most forward-thinking counties in Texas, but there was a significant amount of division within the board as to how to do the restructure. 

• Policy: Lowering barriers to entry for voting is critical in supporting registration and turnout, the reforms in Harris County cover a range of issues that might deter residents from voting, especially BIPOC communities

Last updated: January 19, 2021

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