Harris County could face state oversight of its voter roll maintenance if an investigation confirms that voters are registering at post office boxes.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced Tuesday that she had received a complaint alleging Harris County’s voter registrar is allowing voters to register using post office box addresses instead of physical residence addresses as required by law.
Nelson said her office will begin “an immediate investigation.”
“If we find reason to believe the Harris County Elections Office is failing to protect voter rolls or is not operating in the good faith Texans deserve, we will not hesitate to take the next step toward state oversight,” she added.
The complaint was submitted on November 18 by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), who is a former Harris County voter registrar.
Bettencourt authored legislation in 2021 that excluded commercial post office boxes as voter registration addresses and set procedures for voter registrars to confirm voters’ residences.
He also authored the 2023 legislation that allows the secretary of state to assume administrative oversight of Harris County’s elections or voter registration if an investigation reveals “a recurring pattern of problems.”
According to a notification letter sent Monday to Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez, “The complaint alleges a recurring pattern of problems related to the failure to conduct voter registration list maintenance activities.”
The letter also notes that state funding for voter registration could be withheld if Ramirez fails to perform required duties related to confirming residential addresses.
Ramirez has 30 days to respond.
“County election officials are obligated to maintain accurate voting registrations and remove ineligible voters,” said Secretary Nelson. “I will use all tools available to me to provide accountability when it comes to elections.”
Texas Scorecard reached out to Ramirez for comment, but she did not respond before publication.
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