(Headline USA) A new Texas law that aims to reform election management in the perennially fraudulent Democrat stronghold of Houston and its surrounding county will take effect as scheduled next month despite a lawsuit seeking to overturn it, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Officials in Harris County, which is the state’s most populous, had sought to put the law, which abolishes its elections administrator’s office, on hold.
Last week, a judge in Austin temporarily blocked enforcement of the law after calling it unconstitutional. The judge’s order was short-lived, as the state attorney general’s office appealed the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
In its brief order, the high court denied Harris County’s request to stop the law from taking effect Sept. 1. It also ordered oral arguments in the lawsuit to take place Nov. 28.
The new law stemmed from problems during November’s elections in Harris County, including paper-ballot shortages and delayed poll openings.
But the 2022 issues, which also included the late discovery of roughly 10,000 uncounted primary ballots, were far from an isolated incident. The county also saw several scandals emerge following the 2020 election, including both failed and successful attempts at illegal ballot-harvesting.
Surrogates linked to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, also were caught in damning audio recordings attempting to solicit the votes of non-residents and dead people.
The new law is expected to return the county’s elections oversight to the tax assessor and county clerk, which are both elected offices currently held by Democrats. Nonetheless, some Democrats are attempting to claim that it is part of an effort by GOP lawmakers to make it harder for minorities to vote.
Moreover, Harris County officials have complained that the new law will not give them enough time to prepare for November’s mayoral election in Houston.
Democrats accused Republicans of singling out the county because, like other large urban areas around the state, it has increasingly voted Democratic.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
