Early voting begins on $2.5 billion flood bond, with few officials in the county voicing dissent

Voting on single question that would raise property taxes closes on Harvey anniversary

Early voting begins Wednesday on Harris Couty’s $2.5 billion flood bond, which appears to enjoy widespread support from elected officials and the public even as turnout for the referendum is expected to be well below what it would have been in November.

Forty-five polling places will be open until Tuesday, Aug. 21, Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart said, with the exception of

Aug. 11-12, which will have just 25 balloting locations. Regular voting will take place at hundreds of polling places on Saturday, Aug. 25, the first anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Polling places can be found at www.HarrisVotes.com.

“This is the easiest type of election in which voters may participate because there is only one item on the ballot,” Stanart said in a statement. He added that of 68,000 mail ballots sent to voters, 23,000 already have been returned.

Stanart estimated that between 10 and 13 percent of the electorate will turn out, totaling between 230,000 and 300,000 votes. That would be fewer voters than turned out for the Republican and Democratic primaries in March, and well below the 2014 midterm elections, in which 33 percent of county voters cast ballots.

County officials chose the first anniversary of the day Harvey came ashore in hopes of reminding residents why new flood mitigation projects are needed. Much of the infrastructure damaged by Harvey has yet to be repaired, leaving the county vulnerable to future

storms.

The bond would fund more than 230 projects, including channel improvements, detention basins, new flood plain mapping and buyouts for more than 3,000 flood-prone buildings. If passed, it would be the largest local investment in flood control post-Harvey.

As they head to the polls, residents will be hard-pressed to find a local elected official who objects to the proposal. The Chronicle asked each member of Commissioners Court and City Council, as well as each state legislator representing Harris County, whether they

support the bond. Eight of 16 council members, all five members of the commissioners court, two of seven senators and 14 of 24 representatives said they support the bond. Democrats and Republicans alike said they will vote yes, and every elected official reached by the Chronicle either supported the measure or did not clarify their position.

Some, though, dislike the timing of the vote. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, called for an end to one-issue elections in the

summer, claiming school districts and local governments are intentionally holding them at odd times in a bid to drive down turnout in hopes it will help them win voter approval of tax increases and bond issues.

“It is a shame and unnecessary to spend nearly $1.5 million of taxpayer monies to hold a low-turnout election in Harris County in August when all this could be done for almost no cost and placed on the November ballot with a lot more voter participation,” Bettencourt said in a statement.

Bettencourt said he and

Rep. Mike Schofield, RKaty, plan to file legislation in the next session to require elections that could raise property taxes, such as bond proposals, be held in November. Bettencourt’s office would not divulge his position on the Harris County flood bond.

If the flood bond is approved by voters, Harris County owners would see their property taxes increase 2 to 3 cents per $100 of assessed value over the 10- to 15-year life of the bond. Residents who are disabled, or over the age of 65 and have a home worth less than $200,000, would

see no tax increase.

Schofield and Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Baytown, who wanted the bond election in November, did not respond Tuesday to questions about their position on the bond. Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton said he has yet to decide.

A poll released by the University of Houston on Monday found that 62 percent of likely voters support the bond, as well as 55 percent of residents overall. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they were certain to vote.

Jon Shapley / Staff photographer Katie Gray, an early voting judge, administers the oath to a group of election workers at the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Services Center on Tuesday. The county clerk expects between 10 and 13 percent of eligible voters to cast ballots on the...

Jon Shapley / Staff photographer Kathy Huynh and Kyle Fu set up voting at the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Services Center. During most of early voting, 45 polling places will be open.