Harris County officials ask U.S. Justice Department to probe Texas' rise in mail-in ballot rejections

Harris County has asked the U.S. Justice Department to open an investigation as elections administrators across Texas reject thousands of vote-by-mail applications and ballots under the state's strict new voting law.

A letter from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, County Attorney Christian Menefee and Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria argues that deliberately confusing rules in Senate Bill 1, passed by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature, led to the spike in rejections.

Under that law, absentee voters must include a driver’s license number or partial Social Security number on ballot applications. The number they include must match the form of ID already on file with the Texas Secretary of State, which elections administrators say has created confusion and rejections.

"SB 1 is therefore achieving exactly what its authors set out to do: erect more hurdles in front of the ballot box and systemically suppress the vote in Harris County," the Harris County officials wrote.

Their letter notes that 55% of mail-in ballots received by elections officials in the county were flagged for rejection ahead of this year's midterm contests, compared to just 6.6% before the 2018 midterms. Additionally, more than a third of the county's new mail-in ballots were flagged over ID issues.

Elections administrators statewide have noted a rise in mail-in ballot applications since SB 1 was enacted. Bexar County officials were forced to reject 300 of the 1,200 applications they handled through mid-January.

The Justice Department has already filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over SB 1, alleging that portions of the law, including its rules for rejecting main-in ballots, "disenfranchise eligible Texas citizens who seek to exercise their right to vote."

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