Well,this is sure to restore hope in a fair election. Sigh. Apparently, the person who is in charge of elections in Harris County, Texas (which includes Houston) hasn't been to work in four years.
Elected official who runs Harris County voter registration hasn’t swiped into work in four years https://t.co/OU49mq0QYk
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) October 21, 2024
First sworn into office in 2017, Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett is tasked with a wide array of duties that affect nearly every Harris County resident, from collecting billions of dollars in property taxes to processing millions of vehicle registrations and title transfers every year. As the county’s voter registrar, she also oversees voter registration and maintains records for over 2.5 million voters. In October 2023, Bennett announced that she would not seek a third term, citing a desire to focus on her family and health. The retiring official, however, still needs to lead her office in fulfilling its election duties through this year’s high-stakes presidential election cycle, including assisting voters with any registration issues that may arise. Her prolonged absence from public view raises questions about what she has done since she was reelected in 2020, when she appears to have stopped showing up at the office. She has also hardly corresponded via email and missed a string of key public appearances last year while state Republican leaders targeted Harris County’s election process. Bennett’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on her badge swipe history, email records, absence from public meetings and events, or criticisms regarding her lack of public engagement. Records obtained through public information requests reveal Bennett has not used her employee badge to access any county facility since October 2020. She swiped her badge 92 times in 2019, seven times in 2020 and not once since then. Additionally, she has sent only 18 emails from her work account since the start of this year, aside from those approving employee time-off requests. Some of these emails were forwarded messages sent to her chief deputy, Wendy Caesar, while the rest dealt with topics such as software access and the office website, according to county records.
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So, that's terrifying.
Missing in action She missed a Commissioners Court meeting last August that addressed the transfer of election duties, sending her deputy in her place, while her counterpart, County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, attended the meeting, provided updates and answered questions. She then skipped a September press conference, supposedly co-hosted by her and Hudspeth, on the day they officially took charge of running elections and voter registration. Her spokesperson Laura Smith explained then that Bennett had a family member in critical care. DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT: Voters without proper IDs more likely in minority neighborhoods, reports find Unlike many department heads, Bennett almost never attends Commissioners Court meetings, at least in recent years. She was also a no-show during last month’s budget season — a key event for county departments — where her staff presented her office’s spending plan in her place. The other two elected officials scheduled for that day, the county clerk and county treasurer, both made their own presentations.
She also apparently doesn't show up to meetings that don't require swiping her badge either.
Very cool. https://t.co/RVa1GoWpVy
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 22, 2024
What more is there to say?
Harris County has a very serious overpaid employees "working from home" problem. https://t.co/Aez0hPxY5m
— CLC2020 (@CLC1113) October 21, 2024
Only in government do you get this kind of nonsense. https://t.co/SDm6HyCRlc
— Dolcefino Media (@WayneDolcefino) October 21, 2024
Nothing to see here. Nothing at all. https://t.co/QfIck5KqRi
— KnightRider (@fdknight) October 22, 2024
Just keep on, keeping on.
Sorry, need proof of life. https://t.co/rAVFovzNn5
— Houston Conservative Forum (@houston_cf) October 22, 2024
At this point, it's a fair ask.
We can get rid of a ton of government and not even notice. #txlege @TPPF https://t.co/aUWYNnNbG3
— James Quintero (@JamesQuinteroTX) October 22, 2024
She has proven that.
I'm starting to think it actually might be really super easy to steal elections. https://t.co/m0liS9D9RX
— Frank O'Prussian (@MrBelvederePhan) October 22, 2024
Things like this certainly do nothing to restore faith in the process.
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