Supreme Court of Texas denies appeal in case challenging Harris County's 2024 elections conduct
The Supreme Court of Texas announced Friday that it would not hear an appeal on behalf of conservative activist and Republican megadonor Steven Hotze, in a suit in which he and three other plaintiffs accused the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector's Office of failing to uphold election integrity by properly maintaining the county's voter registration roll.
An appeals court had earlier ruled in favor of Tax Assessor-Collector Annette Ramirez, on the grounds that Hotze and his fellow plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.
Hotze initially filed the lawsuit in mid-October 2024, just weeks ahead of that year's presidential election. Joining him in the suit against then-Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett were Joseph Trahan, a Republican nominee for Texas State Senate District 15, and Caroline Kane, a Republican running for Congressional District 7 of the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller later joined the suit as a fourth plaintiff.
Hotze alleged Harris County's voter roll was "bloated" by "tens of thousands" of illegal voters, who he expected would vote for Democratic candidates. By allowing this, Hotze argued, Bennett had violated the Texas Election Code. Hotze demanded that the alleged illegal voters be removed from the county’s voter roll.
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/elections/2026/06/19/555050/supreme-court-of-texas-denies-appeal-in-case-challenging-harris-countys-conduct-of-2024-elections/