Election oversight tightened in Harris County after state audit reveals past years' rule violations

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The Texas Secretary of State is sending inspectors to Harris County to oversee the upcoming November Election.

The video above is from ABC13's 24/7 livestream.

On Friday, the Secretary of State released the audits from the 2021-22 election cycle that found inadequacies in Harris County's election process.

According to the audit, county election officials did not follow state-mandated rules for voter registration list maintenance, failed to adequately train election workers, and failed to estimate and supply the required amount of ballot paper.

This led to interruptions in voting in at least 19 polling locations in the November 2022 Election, which ABC13 reported on extensively.

READ RELATED: Harris Co. election issues caused by short staffing, malfunctioning machines, paper jams, Astros win

Last year, state lawmakers removed Harris County's Elections Administrator. The Harris County Clerk took over running elections instead.

This year, inspectors will oversee the handling and counting of ballots, and monitor election records, the secretary of state said.

The Harris County Clerk's Office says it is actively reviewing the report. The House Elections Committee will also review the data on Monday.