Harris County could lose millions in federal public safety funding unless it overhauls how it runs elections, and county leaders are fighting back in court.
The county filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, Aug. 18, against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, challenging new conditions that would withhold 20% of Homeland Security Grant Program funds from communities that don't comply with five election-related mandates. Harris County joined El Paso County, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
That money is now at risk. According to the complaint, Harris County received at least $6.6 million in Urban Area Security Initiative funds and $292,000 in State Homeland Security Program funds in fiscal year 2024. The county uses those dollars for first responder radio networks, hazardous-materials detection equipment, active-shooter training and emergency alert systems serving communities across Harris County, including the Spring area.
For fiscal year 2026, FEMA has allocated $23.3 million to the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land urban area through the UASI program, with Harris County expecting a significant share.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee's office filed the suit but did not issue a separate public statement beyond the complaint. County Judge Lina Hidalgo also did not release a statement.
What DHS is demanding
FEMA announced in June that grant recipients must meet five conditions or forfeit 20% of their funding: switch from QR/barcode voting machines to hand-marked paper ballots, conduct a 5% manual post-election audit, reconcile voter counts with ballots cast, verify citizenship of all registered voters within 120 days and verify citizenship of all election workers.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton are named as defendants.
The complaint argues Congress never authorized FEMA to dictate how counties run elections. The filing states that Congress "authorized FEMA to help jurisdictions protect critical infrastructure from terrorist and cyberattacks" but "did not authorize FEMA to decide who may vote, how ballots must be counted, or how states maintain their voter rolls."
Why Harris County says it can't comply
The lawsuit raises a direct conflict with Texas law. Harris County has 2,748,714 registered voters spread across 1,224 precincts. A switch to paper ballots could make it impossible to finish counting within 24 hours of polls closing, as state law requires.
The citizenship-verification mandate also poses problems. The SAVE system DHS wants counties to use has repeatedly flagged eligible voters as noncitizens. In late July, the Texas Secretary of State's Office directed counties to reinstate some of the 2,724 registered voters wrongly flagged by SAVE.
DHS has indicated that sustained noncompliance could lead to grants being suspended or terminated entirely, not just the initial 20% holdback, according to Fox 17 Nashville.
What comes next
A FEMA spokesperson said the agency anticipated pushback, as reported by Houston Public Media.
El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said in a statement that "our law enforcement agencies rely on this funding to purchase critical equipment that helps protect and save lives."
The Brennan Center for Justice, Protect Democracy, Jacobson Lawyers Group and Public Rights Project represent the plaintiffs. No court hearing date has been scheduled. The suit follows a similar challenge filed in July by 25 Democratic-led states, but those states do not include Texas, meaning Harris County would not benefit from a favorable ruling in that case.
