{"id":504065,"date":"2026-01-09T16:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/504065\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T16:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T16:02:17","slug":"harris-county-officials-push-back-after-gov-greg-abbott-calls-for-state-takeover-of-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/504065\/","title":{"rendered":"Harris County officials push back after Gov. Greg Abbott calls for state takeover of elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 Harris County officials are pushing back after Governor Greg Abbott suggested the state should take over elections in the county, calling Harris a \u201crepeat violator of election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">On social media, Abbott said \u201cHarris County is [a] repeat violator of election integrity,\u201d adding, \u201cthey should be stripped of operating elections, and state officials should take over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Judge Lina Hidalgo called the governor\u2019s claims politically motivated and based on unfounded voter fraud allegations.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt\u2019s quite clear this is about continuing to politicize our elections,\u201d Hidalgo told KPRC 2 News Rilwan Balogun. \u201cOur former DA tried to prosecute voter fraud and didn\u2019t find anyone who voted under inappropriate circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The comments come as Harris County prepares for several major elections this year, including the midterms. County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth appeared before Commissioners Court this week, requesting that Houston Police officers be at all early voting and Election Day locations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">In a statement, Hudspeth explained the need for officers:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe Texas Election Code requires law enforcement involvement in various aspects of election operations. Senate Bill 2216 requires all ballots and election equipment used during Early Voting to be securely stored. Officers are needed each day to unlock and lock these secure ballot storage areas at all vote centers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hudspeth also emphasized that the County Clerk\u2019s Office oversees election operations, while voter registration is managed separately by the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector. Since September 2023, the Clerk\u2019s Office has conducted 12 elections in coordination with key stakeholders, including the Texas Secretary of State and both local political parties, Hudspeth said.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Officers assigned during elections are part of the Harris County Election Security Task Force, which includes local and federal partners such as the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Office, and Harris County Fire Marshal\u2019s Office. The task force coordinates security measures to help ensure safe and transparent elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hudspeth said the office will meet with the county budget team in the coming days to finalize costs and present them to Commissioners Court later this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe County Clerk\u2019s Office remains committed to conducting elections with transparency, accuracy, and integrity,\u201d Hudspeth said. \u201cWe want voters to understand the distinct roles of election operations and voter registration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><b>Statement from County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne on Threat of State Takeover of Harris County Elections<\/b>: <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cHarris County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne issued the following statement in response to Governor Greg Abbott\u2019s call for a state takeover of Harris County elections and potential legal charges:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cGovernor Abbott has no authority to seize control of Harris County elections or pursue charges against our election officials. My office works closely with Tax Assessor-Collector and voter registrar Annette Ramirez, and her office has done exactly what it was supposed to do under state law, as the Secretary of State\u2019s office itself has acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">This is a baseless attack on local control and the democratic process. Harris County voters deserve better than political theater that undermines confidence in our elections.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Harris County officials are pushing back after Governor Greg Abbott suggested the state should take over&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":504066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[225957,79778,225954,4345,225956,358,225955,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-504065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-harris-county-clerk-teneshia-hudspeth","9":"tag-harris-county-commissioners-court","10":"tag-harris-county-election-security","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-senate-bill-2216","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-texas-election-code","15":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115865986529153545","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}