Harris County sends mail ballot applications to elderly voters

Harris County this week sent mail ballot applications for the July primary runoff to every voter 65 and older, interim County Clerk Christopher Hollins announced.

The move comes as Harris County is preparing for a significant expansion of mail voting during the novel coronavirus pandemic as some residents are wary of voting at potentially crowded polling sites.

Hollins, who started Monday after being appointed to replace former clerk Diane Trautman, said he wants to provide a safe avenue for voting amid the pandemic. Hollins sent applications to 376,840 voters, about 16 percent of the voter roll.

“Our goal is to keep our voters 65 and up safe amid the current health crisis by giving them the opportunity to vote from home,”

Hollins said in a statement Thursday.

This is the first time the clerk’s office has sent mail ballot applications to voters. Unsolicited. Previously, voters had to request one on their own. The mailer cost $210,000, Hollins spokeswoman Rosio Torres-Segura said.

Ten percent of ballots were cast by mail in the first round of primary voting in March. The clerk’s office said in May that requests for mail ballots had increased this year.

Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a regular critic of local Democrats, issued a statement calling the sending of applications to every elderly voter in a low-turnout election a waste of money. He said in primary elections, the Democratic and Republican parties should perform that role.

“The moral of the story is, just because government can do something doesn’t mean elected officials shouldn’t have the common sense not to do it,” Bettencourt said in a statement.

The Texas Election Code states voters are eligible for mail ballots if they meet any of three conditions: they are 65 or older, will be out of the county during the election period or have a disability.

Whether fear of contracting coronavirus through in-person can constitute as a disability is a matter of several lawsuits. The Texas

Supreme Court ruled last week that lack of immunity to the virus by itself did not constitute a disability, though it would be one of

several factors to meet that standard. A similar federal lawsuit is ongoing.

The Harris County Attorney’s office said it will not challenge any voter who claims a disability on a mail ballot application, effectively opening the door for all of the

county’s 2.4 million voters to vote by mail.

Before she left office, Trautman secured $12 million from Commissioners Court to allow the county clerk to send a mail ballot to any voter who requests one for the July primary runoff and November

general elections.

The primary runoff is July 14. The last day to register to vote for that election is June 15. Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.