Kamin opposes federal order that could disrupt mail voting in November
Older voters, voters with disabilities and people out of county could be caught in the crossfire as Abbie Kamin fights a federal order over mail ballots.
Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin filed an amicus brief opposing a federal executive order that could disrupt mail voting for November, arguing that election rules should stay with states to avoid voter confusion. The filing puts the county on the side of older voters, voters with disabilities and residents who will be out of Harris County on Election Day, the Texans most likely to depend on a ballot that arrives by mail.
Texas allows mail voting for people who are 65 or older, sick or disabled, out of the county on Election Day, expected to give birth within three weeks of Election Day, or confined in jail. Harris County’s elections office makes annual ballot-by-mail applications available to voters 65 and older and voters with disabilities. Harris County has more than 2.5 million registered voters.
The legal fight has drawn national election officials into the dispute. Fifty-one current and former election officials from 19 states signed a related amicus brief, in a count from the Center for Election Innovation & Research. The Brennan Center for Justice: “This bid to seize control of mail voting would wreak havoc on elections and harm American voters.” The challenge is working its way through federal court alongside disputes tied to the 2026 primaries and the November midterm elections.
Kamin’s move also lands in Harris County’s long-running fight over election administration. In April, the Harris County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 to name Houston City Councilmember Kamin as the next county attorney, and Kamin is the Democratic nominee for the November election against Republican Jacqueline Smith. Harris County social media posts identified Kamin as the first woman to serve as county attorney.
The county has also spent years in court over who controls elections at home. In 2023, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1750, a measure that would have abolished the county’s elections administrator and shifted those duties back to the elected county clerk and county tax assessor-collector before the Texas Supreme Court let the law stand for now. Commissioners later gave Kamin broad authority to file lawsuits and take legal action on state and federal election matters.
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