Harris County leaders address voter registration, criminal court backlogs during commissioners court

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County will move forward with a program designed to improve voter registration numbers leading up to the November election after a 4-1 vote during Commissioners Court on Tuesday.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who proposed the program, said that Harris County's voter registration percentages have been consistently lower than Travis and Dallas counties in the past three election cycles.

Travis County's voter registration rate ranged between 96.2% and 99.5 %, and Dallas County's percentages teetered between 89.4% and 91.8% between November 2018 and November 2022. Meanwhile, Harris County's numbers stayed between 87.8% and 91.4% during that same period.

The voter turnout for Harris County is even more bleak. Out of nearly 2.6 million registered voters, 17% cast a ballot during the November 2023 joint election. In the March primary this year, only 14.6% attended the polls.

"It's important to note that Texas has one of the lowest voter registration rates in the country. Texas has, by far, some of the most restrictive and burdensome requirements. It is easier to get a gun in Texas than it is to register to vote," Ellis said.

While Harris County has already been implementing several initiatives to improve voter registration, Ellis' proposal would add three new options: Two-way text messaging, the development of an unregistered voters' map, and registration mailers to unregistered voters through a pilot program.

Ellis estimates it would cost the county between $500,000 to $800,000.

During the vote, Pct. 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey was the only person who opposed the program.

"I'm just going to say what I think this is: a last-minute attempt to do some voter outreach. Voter outreach doesn't have a great history in terms of being a pure system at this point," Ramsey said. "I do not think that going out and hiring an unknown vendor at this point to do an ill-defined scope of voter outreach independent of the county tax assessor-collector makes any sense to me."

As of Tuesday evening, Harris County Commissioners unanimously passed five initiatives under a package called "Advancing Justice."

The video in the media player is from ABC13's report before commissioners came to a vote on "Advancing Justice."

The proposal from Pct. 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones addresses the backlog of criminal court cases and expedites justice for victims.

According to Briones' office, there were 30,000 active felony cases in July, 45% of which were more than 181 days old.

The package, which costs between $10 million and $13 million, will update court technology that's more than 10 years old. Court date reminders will be expanded to Spanish, and transportation assistance will be provided to help defendants appear in court.

Additionally, mental health support services will be enhanced for the Jail-Based Competency Restoration Program. Pct. 4 said the number of individuals deemed incapable of standing trial increased by nearly 40% between 2020 and 2023. The average length of stay in jail for these individuals rose from 90 days in 2020 to more than 100 days in 2023.

Funding will continue for associate judges and support staff through October 2025. The additional employees helped reduce the backlog by more than 62% since its peak in 2022.

Finally, processes will be streamlined for case management. Briones said courts need between tracking dashboards and mechanisms to monitor the progress of their data.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," Briones said. "The inefficiencies and delays are unacceptable for victims, defendants, lawyers who practice in our courts, judges, and court personnel. We can do better."

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