In early October, Commissioner Rodney Ellis joined 62 other state and federal elected officials in asking the Justice Department to monitor the Nov. 5 elections in the state’s five most populus counties. Today, the Justice Department announced that it will monitor polling locations in Texas, including Harris County, and 26 other states. Below is Commissioner Ellis’s statement on the decision:
“Today, I am incredibly thankful to the Justice Department for heeding our call and deploying federal monitors to safeguard the right to vote here in Harris County and across the nation. This action stands as a critical defense against extremists seeking to undermine our democracy. I also want to thank the 62 elected officials statewide who joined me in urging this federal oversight—a necessary measure as Texas has become ground zero in the fight against voter suppression."