The Office of the Texas Secretary of State has informed Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez that a review of voter records validated an administrative complaint filed by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt. The complaint alleged that voters were registered using private P.O. box-style mailboxes rather than physical residence addresses, which are required under Texas law.
The finding follows a November notice from Secretary of State Jane Nelson informing the county that her office had received the complaint and would begin an investigation. At the time, Nelson warned that the state could pursue administrative oversight if the review revealed a pattern of problems in how Harris County maintains its voter rolls.
Bettencourt, a former Harris County voter registrar, authored the statutes at issue. A 2021 law prohibits the use of commercial mailbox addresses for voter registration, while a 2023 measure allows the state to step in when counties fail to correct recurring election administration issues. Under state law, Bettencourt is authorized to file administrative complaints of this nature.
“No one lives in a P.O. Box, and Texans cannot legally register to vote from one,” Bettencourt said in a statement after the findings were confirmed. “It’s the law, and it’s been the law for four years in statute.”
According to the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, some of the registrations identified in the review had already been flagged by Harris County through routine list-maintenance procedures. However, state officials also provided the county with a list of 127 additional private mailbox locations that were identified during the state’s 2021–2022 comprehensive election audit and had not yet been addressed.
State officials directed Harris County to take corrective action to ensure the registrations are brought into compliance. Under Texas law, the county has 30 days to respond to the complaint and outline the steps it will take to resolve the issue.
Bettencourt said his office initially identified more than 60 active voter registrations associated with just two private mailbox locations earlier this fall, arguing that the problem reflected broader weaknesses in voter roll maintenance.
“Texas law requires counties to maintain accurate voter records, and compliance must apply to all illegal registrations, not just a subset,” Bettencourt said. “When that doesn’t happen, the state has both the authority and responsibility to step in.”
State officials emphasized that voter registrations flagged for review are not automatically removed. Instead, voters are typically notified and given the opportunity to confirm or update their residence address before any change is made to their registration status. The office has not indicated that any ballots were improperly cast as a result of the registrations, nor has it suggested the issue affected the outcome of any recent elections.
Harris County, the state’s most populous county, has more than 2.5 million registered voters—roughly 15 percent of all voters statewide—making accurate list maintenance a matter of heightened scrutiny.
