{"id":1915985,"date":"2023-04-18T00:27:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T04:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-incompetent-election-administration-suppressed-midterm-voters-in-harris-county-texas\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T00:28:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T04:28:42","slug":"how-incompetent-election-administration-suppressed-midterm-voters-in-harris-county-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-incompetent-election-administration-suppressed-midterm-voters-in-harris-county-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"How Incompetent Election Administration Suppressed Midterm Voters In Harris County, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-incompetent-election-administration-suppressed-midterm-voters-in-harris-county-texas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1915985&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>If Americans want to understand how genuine \u201cvoter suppression\u201d works, they should take a look at the widespread disenfranchisement of voters in Harris County, Texas, during the 2022 midterms.<\/p>\n<p>On Election Day, county election officials\u2019 misadministration of the contest led to ballot paper shortages, delayed openings and temporary closures of voting centers, and an untold number of disenfranchised voters. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-746200225\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bd8a91f42f6a89f25ae9c591cda5e072 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bd8a91f42f6a89f25ae9c591cda5e072\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI have never seen anything so egregiously, grossly mismanaged as the elections in Harris County this past year,\u201d said Harris County GOP Chair Cindy Siegel during a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/tlcsenate.granicus.com\/MediaPlayer.php?clip_id=17499\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texas Senate committee hearing<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>For context, Harris County is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/241702\/largest-counties-in-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">third-most populous county<\/a> in America. While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2016\/11\/11\/harris-county-turned-blue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">historically<\/a> favorable to Republicans, county residents have increasingly voted for Democrats in recent election cycles. During the 2020 election, for instance, Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2020-election\/results\/texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won<\/a> the county by 13 points, with Democrats also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/houston\/2022\/11\/10\/democrats-harris-county-commissioners-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expanding<\/a> their majority on the county\u2019s governing commissioners court last fall.<\/p>\n<p>Not long after the polls opened on Election Day, local media outlets began <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/harris-county-texas-election-official-promises-get-to-bottom-paper-ballot-shortages-delayed-openings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a> that several Harris County voting centers were experiencing ballot paper shortages, delayed openings, and problems with voting machines. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Happened in Harris County?<\/h2>\n<p>Nearly two months after the election, Harris County released an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23558586-harris-county-elections-2022-assesment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cinconclusive\u201d assessment<\/a> detailing the reported problems election workers and voters encountered on Election Day. In addition to ballot paper shortages, the report confirmed that some voting centers \u201cdid not open on time,\u201d with reasons ranging from staffing problems to election officials not receiving the keys to their center\u2019s voting equipment prior to polls opening. <\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4282a6d76ac55440093df1baa0fd9fbb fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4282a6d76ac55440093df1baa0fd9fbb\"><\/div>\n<p>The report further revealed that during the early part of Election Day, the county\u2019s ePollbook server \u201clost replication,\u201d which \u201cprevented the wait time tool from updating the website, prevented the supply team from seeing real-time check in and disabled the sample ballot look up feature.\u201d Such circumstances \u201chad a direct impact on the ability [of county election officials] to see how many voters were being checked-in and what the wait times were\u201d at any voting center.<\/p>\n<p>While the assessment says that 68 precinct election judges \u201creported running out of their initial allotment\u201d of paper ballots, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/investigations\/election-ballot-paper-shortage-harris-county\/285-0abb3602-a724-4c08-a07b-1264eea8c790\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">investigation<\/a> conducted by local news outlet KHOU 11 indicates the problem was more widespread. According to the investigation, 121 of the county\u2019s 782 voting centers \u201cdid not initially receive enough ballot paper to cover voter turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe county allotted each of the locations six ballot paper packets, or enough for 600 ballots. But the total votes cast exceeded that amount, sometimes by hundreds of ballots,\u201d the KHOU 11 report reads. <\/p>\n<p>At the committee hearing, Siegel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Id9AFg0A7Tc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> that one of the Harris County GOP\u2019s precinct chairs developed a \u201cheat map\u201d purportedly showing that \u201cthe majority\u201d of the 121 polls were in \u201cRepublican voting areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-53330cee09224f24164a143405f9fd93 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-53330cee09224f24164a143405f9fd93\"><\/div>\n<p>The KHOU 11 investigation also found that on Election Day, 52 voting centers \u201creceived less paper in 2022 than ballots cast in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harris County has not disclosed why voting centers ran out of ballot paper. It also remains unknown how many voters were disenfranchised as a result of such issues.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Investigations and Continued Cover-Up<\/h2>\n<p>Following the Nov. 8 contest, leading Texas Republicans began demanding answers from Harris County officials over the locality\u2019s Election Day problems. On Nov. 14, GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/politics\/2022\/11\/14\/voters-in-harris-county-deserve-to-know-gov-greg-abbott-calls-for-investigation-into-election-problems-in-harris-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> calling on the secretary of state, attorney general\u2019s office, and Texas Rangers to \u201cinitiate investigations into allegations of improprieties in the way that the 2022 elections were conducted in Harris County,\u201d adding that voters \u201cdeserve to know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not long after, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/local\/2022\/11\/16\/harris-county-da-kim-ogg-launches-investigation-into-countys-elections-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> her office had launched an investigation into the county\u2019s Election Day problems following a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/articles\/news\/politics\/elections\/2022\/11\/21\/437761\/da-ogg-had-no-choice-but-to-investigate-election-crime-allegations-deputy-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">request<\/a> from the Texas secretary of state\u2019s office to help with an inquiry into \u201cpossible criminal activity relating to shortages of paper ballots.\u201d After receiving backlash from Texas Democrats, a bureau chief in Ogg\u2019s office defended the investigation, saying Ogg was following state law.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the seriousness of the matter, leading Harris County officials have attempted to stonewall efforts to uncover what led to the administrative failures on Election Day. When pressed by Harris County\u2019s commissioners in January about the ballot paper shortages, Clifford Tatum, Harris County\u2019s election administrator, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/investigations\/county-commissioners-post-election-report-ballot-paper-shortage\/285-c28349d3-cc47-441c-93cd-214c272418f6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused<\/a> to provide any details, using a lawsuit filed against his office by the Harris County GOP as justification for remaining mum.<\/p>\n<p>County officials have displayed similar evasiveness with local media. Last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/politics\/khou-joins-lawsuit-harris-county-election-records\/285-f038ec11-b949-4e85-a4b1-de7acff6c2e1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KHOU 11<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/abc13.com\/harris-county-midterm-elections-documents-lawsuit-texas-attorney-general-sued-abc13-voting\/13119115\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">local ABC affiliate<\/a> filed open records requests with Harris County over records related to the Nov. 8 election. After the Texas attorney general denied a request from Harris County to dismiss the requests last month, the locality filed a lawsuit against the AG\u2019s office last week to keep the records hidden.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Texas Republicans Offer Solutions<\/h2>\n<p>In response to Harris County\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/articles\/news\/politics\/2022\/03\/08\/420614\/harris-county-republican-leaders-press-to-have-the-elections-administrator-fired-after-primary-nights-vote-count-debacle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extensive<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/11\/03\/panicky-texas-democrats-beg-biden-doj-to-interfere-in-the-midterms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">track record<\/a> of failed election administration, Texas Republicans have introduced numerous bills this year seeking to enhance the integrity of the state\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n<p>If passed and signed into law, <a href=\"https:\/\/capitol.texas.gov\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&#038;Bill=SB1911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 1911<\/a> would allow any county official responsible for acquiring election supplies who \u201cintentionally fails to provide an election precinct with the required number of ballots\u201d to be charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Said officials could also be charged under the same statute for failing to \u201cpromptly supplement the distributed ballots upon request by a polling place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Individuals convicted of a <a href=\"https:\/\/statutes.capitol.texas.gov\/Docs\/PE\/htm\/PE.12.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Class A misdemeanor<\/a> are subject to a fine of up to $4,000, a maximum of one year in jail, or both.<\/p>\n<p>Also introduced is <a href=\"https:\/\/capitol.texas.gov\/BillLookup\/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&#038;Bill=SB1039\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 1039<\/a>, which <a href=\"https:\/\/capitol.texas.gov\/tlodocs\/88R\/billtext\/pdf\/SB01039S.pdf#navpanes=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mandates<\/a> local election officials address inquiries related to election irregularities and provide \u201cexplanation[s] and \u201csupporting documentation\u201d when such information is requested by local and state party chairs, candidates, or election judges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is about a catastrophic lack of performance in Harris County,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.votebeat.org\/2023\/4\/10\/23673986\/texas-election-laws-harris-county-legislature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> bill sponsor and Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt during last month\u2019s State Affairs Committee hearing. \u201cIt\u2019s too big to ignore. The state can\u2019t afford this type of problem in Harris County and neither can the residents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.votebeat.org\/2023\/4\/10\/23673986\/texas-election-laws-harris-county-legislature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">election integrity bills<\/a> introduced by Texas Republicans would make illegal voting a felony, withdraw Texas from the leftist-controlled voter-roll management system known as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/03\/heres-a-look-into-popular-voter-database-erics-left-wing-origins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ERIC<\/a>, and grant the secretary of state the power to suspend and replace an election administrator, among other reforms.<\/p>\n<p>The kinds of Election Day failures displayed in Harris County are notably problematic because of the partisan difference in how Americans vote. While Democrats have made unsupervised, mail-in voting a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/how-mail-voting-became-democratic-electoral-strategy-opinion-1637676\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">key facet of their electoral strategy<\/a>, Republicans prefer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/today.yougov.com\/topics\/politics\/articles-reports\/2022\/10\/14\/democrats-republicans-plan-vote-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in-person voting on Election Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If this trend grows, it means that any election misadministration on Election Day will continue to disproportionately harm GOP voters over Democrats. Such circumstances would only further contribute to Americans\u2019 waning confidence in U.S. elections, making accountability for what happened in Harris County all the more necessary. <\/p>\n<div  class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d81bdcb7261d9d544789407a807eeae8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d81bdcb7261d9d544789407a807eeae8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Shawn Fleetwood is a Staff Writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2022-midterms\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2022 midterms<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-integrity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election integrity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/harris-county\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Harris County<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/paul-bettencourt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Paul Bettencourt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas-democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/texas-republicans\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Texas Republicans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-disenfranchisement\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter disenfranchisement<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-suppression\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter suppression<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Americans want to understand how genuine \u201cvoter suppression\u201d works, they should take a look at the widespread disenfranchisement of voters in Harris County, Texas, during the 2022 midterms. On Election Day, county election officials\u2019 misadministration of the contest led to ballot paper shortages, delayed openings and temporary closures of voting centers, and an untold<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":1915986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[4106,3662,3728,4021,12537,7427,20892,3694,4223],"class_list":["post-1915985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-administration","tag-county","tag-election","tag-harris","tag-incompetent","tag-midterm","tag-suppressed","tag-texas","tag-voters"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1915985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1915986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1915985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1915985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1915985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}