Joseph Trahan and Caroline Kane are accusing Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett of failing to remove ineligible voters, claiming that the list of Harris County registered voters includes people who are disqualified from voting for a broad range of reasons, including those who have moved out of Harris County, are deceased or are registered at a commercial address where they do not reside, according to court documents.
Ann Harris Bennett is the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector in Texas. She has been in office since 2017, but recent reports indicate that she has not physically been present at her office since late 2020. Bennett, a Democrat, won her position in the 2016 election against the incumbent Mike Sullivan, a Republican. She was re-elected in 2020. In 2023, the Texas legislature made significant changes to election management in Harris County, disbanding an independent elections office and reassigning duties, including to Bennett's office. This has put her office under more scrutiny. Her current term ends on December 31, 2024, and she has announced that she will not be seeking re-election.
Public information requests from The Chronicle show she hasn't swiped her badge to enter the office or any county facility since 2020. — yet she still makes a salary of $171k a year.
Bennett swiped her badge 92 times in 2019, seven times in 2020, and has not once since then.
Bennett has not been active online, sending a total of 18 emails since January.
Bennett's office collects property taxes, processes vehicle registrations, and most notably, handles voter registration records for Harris County's more than 2.5 million registered voters.
Harris County Attorney, Christian Menefee, accused the Republican activist and candidates of being, “MAGA EXTREMISTS” pertaining to the lawsuit.
As County Attorney, Menefee has been involved in several high-profile lawsuits:
He has challenged Texas voting laws, particularly those passed in 2021 which he argued restricted voting rights.
He's fought against state audits of elections in Harris County, notably in 2020 and 2022, questioning their necessity and seeking federal oversight.
Menefee has also taken legal action against Texas Governor Greg Abbott regarding mask mandates and vaccine policies.
He publicly opposed and refused to prosecute civil cases related to a directive from Governor Abbott concerning investigations into parents providing gender-affirming care to their transgender children.
The D Blood Ticks like all corrupt machines resist an honest vote
How has she been getting paid and hasn’t worked in 4 years! I do not understand this at all! Of course the democrats are going to do what the county attorney is doing. But Ann Bennett has a job paid for by my tax dollars and she doesn’t come to work!