letter from harris county attorney

2504 Rusk St. #110 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. (S or C-Corps), Articles Local, state and federal leaders celebrated the EPAs decision to look at the discrimination claims Tuesday. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. Rosen 717,202 84,691 0 1,322,398 Arturo G. MichelDecember 3, 2020 -- Mayor Sylvester Turner has selected a familiar name and a well-respected attorney to join the administration as the City's chief legal counsel and advisor. In other words, please find me the people who showed up to vote at a location that was having paper problems, and did not wait for them to be fixed, did not go to another location, did not come back later, and as a result did not vote. An election judge is the person in charge of running a voting location. For a demand letter in Harris County, call on the attorneys at The Dushkin Law Firm. 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. Planning, Wills Its good to be a Commissioner. I was on several endorsements interviews with some of these judges through a different organization. This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. According to the petition filed Monday night,Wayne Dolcefino, a media consultant and former TV journalist,submitted multiple requests for public information on behalf of the Gallery Furniture owner, who was a major donor supporting Republican candidates including County Judge LinaHidalgos opponent Alexandra del Moral Mealer. The Republicans picked the judges with some of the smallest accounts. Did you say anything at all to the officers? If the past is any guide, the local governments are unlikely to prevail in court, said University of Texas School of Law Adjunct Professor Randall Erben. A-Z, Form It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. In the past, the responsibility of transporting the ballots to the counting station has fallen to these election judges, the final task at the end of their 15-hour day. By the time this runs in the morning well know what the official canvass says, and from there well see if an election challenge will follow. Shah said the office will work in coordination with the county attorneys office to review and determine the validity of all challenges on a case-by-case basis after the midterm election. Agreements, LLC The judge said the law likely violates the First Amendment. The Harris County GOPpushed backon the countys plan, arguing only election judges are allowed to transport ballots and instructing Republican election judges to drive ballots themselves. Im sure theyll say theyre just a bland nonprofit, but to a voter who does not have a law degree, who does not have a background in law enforcement, you are a lot more likely to believe that this is some kind of quasi-official visit, Slattery said. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. One of his top staffers ran against Judge Hidalgo in the 2022 Dem primary, and I imagine there will be some kind of response to that. Each of the forms submitted by various Harris County residents cited voter registration data retrieved by the Texas Election Network, along with the residents own canvassing efforts. I think the Fifth Circuit is evaluating whether to put the injunction back in place while the rest of the initial lawsuit is litigated, but we are in the weeds here and I dont have certainty about that. 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. As part of the canvass, respondents are ordered to separately identify in the vote tabulations the number of later cast votes for each candidate in each race and for or against each proposition, so that candidates, the parties, and this Court may ascertain whether the later cast votes would be outcome-determinative and so that the parties can assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted. Forms, Independent Civil Ad Litem . The anti-solicitation provision makes it unlawful for a public official or election official while acting in an official capacity to knowingly . Please read our complete disclaimer here. Privacy | I am taking the following steps to comply with the letter and spirit of Section 171.004. If you have a favorite or two among them and a few bucks to spare, Im sure theyd appreciate a contribution. And in their lawsuit, they flat out misrepresent the countys plans to the court, making several statements that they know are demonstrably false., (Longorias) office successfully used constables in the May 7 election, and the GOP had no problem at that time, said Odus Evbagharu, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party. Determining how a proposed downtown connection for the Hardy Toll Road will enter the area near Buffalo Bayou and cross a remade I-10. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on the court, voted against the measure. Similarly, Morgan argued in the filing that her work as a voter registrar particularly around the University of Texas in Austin will be hampered if she can no longer proactively suggest that eligible but unaware voters request an application to vote by mail as she has in the past.. You never know. As for Joe Danna, is there ever a time when he isnt running for Sheriff? Once again, Comptroller Hegar has abused his authority, the county attorney said. I really do believe they did the best they could and that were overall in a much better place than when we started and that we worked hard for it. 1 Cause No. Records, Annual In 2017, the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature evenamended state lawto specify 22 months, updating state standards to mirror federal requirements. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The criminal division prosecutes criminal cases. Others rub shoulders with business leaders, politicians, sports figures, and even celebrities. Agreements, Bill Take the form to the post office. Facility operators say the plants are safe and need to be close to construction sites. As noted recently, there are other obstacles to the project, though perhaps if Harris County and TxDOT can settle their differences, those can be handled as well. Design specifics of the future I-45 interchange with Interstate 10 that accommodate Metros planned. See here for the background. Harris Countys settlement is part of a global settlement with JUUL Labs, Inc resolving numerous cases brought by government entity plaintiffs, including school districts, cities, and counties. judges sued to undo 22 election. S.B. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee gave the following statement in response: "Comptroller Hegar's statement is false. Once it has a foothold, the momentum only goes in one direction. Rodney Ellis, County Commissioner, Precinct 1 Its actually not clear from the story how many ballots were talking about. His application of state law is wrong. Center, Small Fortunately, we know how to handle these types in fact, many of our clients have been shocked to learn that their investigations have been closed with zero civil or criminal liability. Notes, Premarital The Department of Justice haschallengedS.B. , New! The challenges were first reported by The New York Times, which found the affidavits disputed the eligibility of more than 6,000 voters. He may or may not seek to run for something else do remember that the minute he says something to that effect hell have to resign, so all we would have before then is speculation but either way I wont be surprised to see some competition for the Precinct 1 slot. Real Estate, Last Claim your certified mail. It could all be a moot point by then anyway.. 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. One judge whose race is being challenged, David Fleisher, lives in 133. Burgess 940 14,710 5,207 5,403 We have 26-pay-period accounting and Comptroller Hegar should know that, the judge said. The lawyers job is to protect the opposing partys interests Hiring a lawyer after receiving a letter is an excellent option. The letter, addressed to Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan on Nov. 25, concludes the appointment of Isabel Longoria as the county's first election administrator is "unlawful and null and void On January 7, 2021, I filed with the Harris County Clerk's Office an affidavit disclosing my . 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. I figure its just a matter of time before incumbent DA draws a primary challenger or two, so well want to keep an eye on her fundraising totals. Itll become too much of a political annoyance for him, and it could end up costing him dearly. Following a testy three-hour hearing earlier in the day, Federal District Judge Xavier Rodriguez temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the rule against Harris Countys election administrator until the rest of a lawsuit plays out. 2023-00932; Chris Daniel v. Marilyn Burgess. Longoria has planned to engage in speeches and hold voter-outreach events but has been unable to do so for fear of criminal prosecution and civil penalties, said Tuesdays filing, adding that Longoria also halted plans to promote mail-in voting with fliers and on social media. Did you witness something? So our perspective is that those provisional ballots are no different than any other provisional ballots they are to be counted.. She is 1 of 17 elected Harris County Dem. of Business, Corporate Some of the projects cost comes from other non-TxDOT sources, while some of the money dedicated on the project will not be spent until later parts of the construction, likely to stretch beyond 2032. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. Under Hegars calculations, Heaps annualized budget would have been about $48.9 million over 12 months nearly $2.3 million more than the $46.7 million figure calculated by the county. She said Republican judges only learned the day before that election that they would have to hand ballots over at polling sites, rather than drive them downtown themselves. If the questions are not answered, she would therefore still need to have the temporary injunction in place, he said. 2023-01052; Sartaj Bal v. Judge Toria Finch. Republican, Democrat, or Independent no eligible voter should have their ballot thrown out because the Attorney General cant accept the results of Harris County elections.. The SOS raised no concerns, legal or otherwise, with the program. The office also provides legal advice to county officials and employees. I do hope the County Attorneys Office keeps an eye on this activity, because we know its ill-intentioned bullshit and it deserves to be closely scrutinized. I'm clueless as to what this could be about and I apologize if this isn't the best place to ask this question but I'm rather worried at this point. If you see it clear to forward me $1000 to cover the locksmith, I will egarly give you 20% of any monies recoverd." [deleted] 8 yr. ago Instead, the court did not issue an opinion and election night ballot countingproceeded uneventfullyat NRG Arena. Id like to see enough of the concerns raised by the plan opponents be addressed in a way that theyre willing to let the project move forward. Either we win enough power to hold them off, or we are left with nothing but the hope that the likes of Bryan Hughes is unwilling to go that far. Judge Payne is represented by John Raley. Can you imagine what the Republican response to this would be if it were a Democrat complaining about voting location problems?