Harris County shells out almost $500,000 on polling locations this cycle

Early voting is underway across the State of Texas, and record numbers of people are turning out. But worries have risen once again this year in Harris County, after the last major elections in 2022 went completely haywire, resulting in numerous lawsuits. However, County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth has taken the reins since the disaster and is putting time and resources into making sure things run smoothly.

So far, Harris County has dumped almost $500,000 into polling sites across the county, and of that, about 40 percent went to NRG Arena. That may raise eyebrows for some, as it would appear to be favoritism for a bigger location, that is in a more Democrat area.

But Rice's Bill King says there is a good reason why NRG Arena is getting almost half the money.

"That is where they actually bring the boxes and county, it is the tallying center where they do everything," he says. "That is why that number is so big."

All in all, the county spent the money on hotels, worship locations, community centers, and stadium space. That includes using the 350,000 square foot arena on Election Day. Specifically, the arena got about $171,000 in funds.

You have to remember as well; this is not outside money being funneled into anything. This is just county money being moved around for other things in the county. So, in theory, putting that money into the sites is a very good thing, considering the mess we had from the 2022 elections.

But why is this even a concern? Why should we have to worry if our local elections will run smoothly? That goes back to the county commissioners. They decided it was a good idea to have an Election Administrator, which was handpicked by the almost all-Democrat Court.

That resulted in running out of ballot paper, numbers not matching, and a whole host of other things. Maybe it was just a mistake, or maybe it was a purposeful attempt to cause chaos. Either way, it got us where we are.

"Competency does matter...and the people they brought in had no experience...they were not competent to do the job...Teneshia Hudspeth has been trained for decades by people who know how to do it," he says.

But, again, why? Other counties do not have the same issues we do. But everything being bigger in Texas is part of the problem.

"Our ballot is so long...we have the longest one in the United States, because we insist on electing all of our judges...we need to stop electing judges. Most do not elect lower courts like we do," he says.

Early voting in Texas runs through November 1st.