letter from harris county attorney

Judge Walker is represented by John Raley. The votes that were cast during that time period pursuant to a court order are still perfectly legal. Remember, if you are not working you are not getting paid but the office bills continue nevertheless. Since the case has progressed from federal district court to the Fifth Circuit and on to the state Supreme Court, the parties positions have changed and the justices find themselves in the unusual position of being asked to answer three questions where there is very little if any disagreement between the parties. The pause, approved unanimously by Commissioners Court at a special meeting Monday, instructs County Attorney Christian Menefee to seek a stay on the lawsuit in federal court as he negotiates with TxDOT to resolve differences between the changes the county seeks to the project and the current plan. You never know. Because the proceedings are still ongoing, it is too soon to know whether the ability to extend voting hours in the future could be impacted. Here @JudgeGenesis Draper. They were wrong back when they tried this the first time the comptroller and his allies and theyre wrong again now, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said before the court met in executive session Thursday. A county attorney tried to send me mail through USPS the other - reddit Theres no reason, just because youve turned 65, that you cant show up to vote, Hall said in promoting the changes during the June GOP Convention in Houston. View Website View Lawyer Profile Email Lawyer. His comments followed testimony from Longoria and Morgan, who said they feared the civil and criminal penalties that could come from violating the broad prohibition. The state, represented by Lanora Pettit, a principal deputy solicitor general with the Office of Attorney General, acknowledged in her brief that volunteer deputy registrars are not public officials subject to prosecution; the term solicit does not include merely providing information but instead requires strongly urging a voter to fill out an application that was not requested; and the Attorney General is not a proper official to seek civil penalties. Forms, Real Estate The petition was filed Monday afternoon. 1, Longoria, Morgan, and other election officials and election workers across Texas can be imprisoned for a minimum of six months and fined up to $10,000 if they encourage a voter to apply for a mail ballot application. Leave it doesnt sound so bad given the alternative. The file is going to be stored in two places: on your device and in the My Forms folder. If the GOP succeeds, that would end. To put it another way, good luck proving intent. 2023-00964; Alexandra Mealer v. Lina Hidalgo. This practice group provides general legal services covering law enforcement, public works, community services, road and building construction, park site planning and development, vendor selection and contract development, agreement preparation for design and engineering services, real property transactions, inter-local agreements with other governmental jurisdictions, Public Information Act requirements, open meetings requirements, and the application of state and federal laws and regulations related to HIV/AIDS programs, the medical examiner, parks and library operations, disaster planning, and emergency management services. A court of law ordered Harris County to keep the polls to open for an additional hour on Election Day and people across our county cast their ballots during that time, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said in a statement. 14 Cause No. That included an 88-year-old voter whom Morgan would typically call at the start of every year to remind her that she has to reapply for mail-in ballots. See the sample using the Preview function and read its description. The Election Administrators office notified Republican election judges they could opt in to the countys plan if they wished, and at least 31 of them did so. 2023-00936; Mark Montgomery v. Judge Kelley Andrews. While the provisional ballots are included in the official count certified by Commissioners Court, the Supreme Court also is ordering the county to include in the final canvassed results a separate report that details the votes of the later cast votes for each candidate in each race. That way, candidates can determine whether this group of ballots would change the outcome of their race and assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted.. The Texas Transportation Commission is scheduled to approve the UTP at its Aug. 30 meeting. Menefee said Paxtons opinion directly contradicts a separate opinion his office issued last month, as well as an opinion issued by the AGs office more than 30 years ago, which both concluded that ballots are confidential for 22 months following an election. Governors have broad power under the Disaster Act, he said, noting that the state Supreme Court sided with Abbott when Travis County attempted to enact a New Years Eve curfew for restaurants. These losing candidates are finally laying bare what we all know to be true for them, its not about improving elections or making sure our elections are secure, its about playing games with our democratic systems and refusing to accept the will of the voters.. The mayor announced Thursday that Arturo G. Michel is returning to government as City Attorney for the City of Houston. The Harris County Elections Administrators Office received a flood of affidavits this summer challenging the eligibility of thousands of registered voters throughout the county, accusing them of not living at the addresses listed on registration records. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez last week halted enforcement of a provision of Senate Bill 1 that made it a crime for election officials to solicit mail-in ballots. Pay by card or PayPal to finish making an account. Planning Pack, Home The amount of evidence theyd need to provide to come close to justifying such an ask, I cant even begin to comprehend. 1 and, many other entities, including the Brennan Center (inLUPE v. Abbott), have also filed suit against various parts of the law. We all know that Lina received very little in campaign contributions, especially compared to Mealer. Judges cant take pro bono help to defend selves. But they could if they are willing to do so.. webcomments@hctx.net. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit, though his office opposes the request for an injunction and will respond to that in the future, as well. I was employed by {Name of the company} for {Number} years until I was suddenly and without explanation fired from my job last month. Order Specials, Start You could have voted early! This 11th-hour ask to throw those votes away should not be tolerated, especially considering the State rejected the Countys offer to hold off on counting these votes while it sought clarification from the Supreme Court, Werner added. It is believed that the purpose of these suits is to drag out the cases, have judges dip into personal resources, and be exhausted financially and emotionally by the time of their next race. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. Theres no explanation for it hes just flat wrong. This includes legal research and drafting of legal documents for the purchase, sale, lease and operation of real estate including land title examinations, contracts, leases and concession agreements for parks and county buildings, roads and other public purposes. (*). Its not like voters were told they couldnt vote or that they had to go home. The Press has more. But boy it sure would be nice to have a state government that wasnt a constant threat to our local matters? Harris County assumes no liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of errors, omissions or discrepancies. If the facts as stated above are accurate, then this really is another case of political math being used in place of, well, math. Office of Harris County District Clerk - Marilyn Burgess | Customer Service I suppose if this happens the next thing well hear about is Angela Paxton driving them away, probably as they hunch down in the back seat of her SUV, for the safety of the suburbs. 21. Rory Olsen is represented by Jared Woodfill. The USPS redelivery form states that it was both a letter and certified mail. Anyone who ran into a problem at one location could have gone to another. See here for the background and here for the courts order. Select the subscription plan to continue on to sign up. These losing candidates should move on too.. Texas AG Paxton disputes appointments of Harris County elections - KPRC We have multiple locations at which anyone can vote precisely as a hedge against problems at any one specific location. Harris County Attorney Letter // Get FREE Letter Templates (Print or Houston, Texas (October 20, 2022) Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner sent a joint letter to the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division requesting that federal monitors be sent to Harris County for the November 2022 election. As shown by Attorney General . The Bail Bond Board adopted this rule after hearing directly from the families of victims of violent crimes, community organizers, and law enforcement. The only reason we know any of this is because Paxton put out a whiny press release complaining about his inability to get a Montgomery County grand jury to give him what he wanted. CIA plans to hold a fundraiser, hopefully on Feb 19. Its not clear to me where things are procedurally with this litigation and remember, there are a bunch of other cases as well but in this matter the Fifth Circuit wanted to get some clarity on state law before doing whatever it has on its docket to do. Steve Radack. I cannot begin to fathom the pain and loss they are experiencing. As a bail agent for the corporate surety Allegheny Casualty Co., she also worries that the new rule will put her at odds with the insurance company which she fears could violate customer privacy. Their presence allows us to view a case from both points of view the defense and the prosecution. No one wants that, but sometimes having the fight is the most straightforward way to resolve the dispute. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. The County Attorneys office, however, said it had no information that anyone had attempted to misrepresent themselves as public employees, which would be illegal. Seems like theres not that much in dispute, but theres always something. The information contained in this site was valid at the time of posting. An election judge is the person in charge of running a voting location. It doesnt make any sense outside of, obviously, cynical partisanship and these targeted actions against Harris County, the most diverse county in the state Mirza said. The election code does not speak to the delivery other than the presiding judge must turn over those election records to our election office. Harris County District Clerk - Web - https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com or by US mail - Harris County District Clerk, PO Box 4651, Houston, Tx 77210-4651 Criminal history/Background checks information-involving arrests made by any law enforcement agency within Harris County visit their website. Im fine with this approach if theres a path to meeting the needs of the many people and groups that have been objecting to the design of this project, then sure, lets go for it but I wouldnt get my hopes up too much. The Chron story, from a bit later in the day, has more details. Were here today because the TCEQ failed to address these issues when it had the chance.. If even one is bounced, Abbott could appoint a replacement for those in the criminal courts. Let me start off by saying that my heart breaks for everyone in Uvalde. That would include increasing penalties for those who violate election laws even inadvertently, reducing early voting days and restricting mail-in balloting to only the military, the disabled and people who will be out of the county during the entirety of early voting. This is one of the precise situations I have been most worried about this election people in shadowy volunteer groups who suggest in one way or another that they are acting under official authority questioning the eligibility of voters directly by knocking on their doors, Slattery said.

Veterans Elementary School Staff, Cheap Houses For Rent Lincoln, Ne, Why Did Alexandria Stavropoulos Left Dcc, Six Flags Diamond Elite Parking Reservations, Articles L

letter from harris county attorney

letter from harris county attorney