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Chris Hollins (politician)

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Christopher George Hollins is an American Democratic Party official and personal injury attorney who currently serves as the interim County Clerk and the Chief Elections Officer of Harris County, Texas.

Education

After graduating from Hightower High School in Missouri City,[1] Hollins went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Morehouse College. He also completed a joint program with Yale Law School and Harvard Business School, earning both his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees.

Harris County Clerk appointment

On June 1, 2020, Hollins was appointed as interim County Clerk by a 3-2, party-line vote of the Harris County Commissioners Court. His predecessor, Diane Trautman, resigned from the position citing health concerns.[2][3] At 34 years old, Hollins is the youngest person to have ever held the position and is also the first African American to hold the position.[4][5]

Involvement in 2020 U.S. presidential election

See also: 2020 United States presidential election in Texas

Hollins was vocal in opposing Texas governor Greg Abbott's decision to allow only one drop-box per county in the U.S. 2020 presidential election. Harris County, Texas, which is larger than the State of Rhode Island and has 2.4 million registered voters, had only one voting drop-box location.

Based on the Governor's policy, voters at one end of the county would have had to drive over an hour to reach that box in order to submit their ballot.[6][7] However, on October 9, 2020, a federal judge passed an injunction blocking the Governor's order and mandating that Texas fail to implement or enforce the voting policy which would have placed vulnerable voters in harm's way.[8]

Hollins is responsible for overseeing the spending of $27 million in Harris County's 2020 November election. The funds were initially intended to significantly expand mail-in ballots.[9] In October 2020, a decision from the Supreme Court of Texas[10] reasoned that mailing an absentee voting application to every voter fell outside the scope of the State's election statute, further explaining that Hollins had overstepped his bounds in his efforts to mail applications to every voter.[11]

Other policies instituted by Hollins include expansion of in-person voting locations, the introduction of drive-thru voting, developing COVID-19 safety guidelines regarding voting, extending voting hours to include 24-hour voting, as well as sending vote-by-mail applications to all Harris County voters, despite the fact that Texas law only allows a narrow segment of the population, including voters over the age of 65, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and eligible incarcerated voters to vote absentee.[12][13][14][8]

Hollins is a Texas Democratic Party official and personal injury attorney.

See also

  • Lina Hidalgo - Harris County judge under which Hollins works

References

  1. ^ "Attorney Chris Hollins new Harris County Clerk". Highlands Star - Crosby Courier. 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  2. ^ Despart, Zach (2020-05-20). "Texas Democratic Party official appointed interim Harris County clerk". HoustonChronicle.com. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  3. ^ Despart, Zach (June 2, 2020). "Hollins confident experience will serve him as interim Harris County Clerk". HoustonChronicle.com.
  4. ^ "Wednesday, September 16, 2020-VICE TV". Viceland.
  5. ^ "The Rachel Maddow Show". MSNBC.
  6. ^ Texas governor being sued over limit on ballot drop boxes - CNN Video, retrieved 2020-10-09
  7. ^ "Texas Governor Limits Ballot Drop-Off Locations, Local Officials Vow To Fight Back". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  8. ^ a b Deliso, Meredith (2020-10-10). "Judge blocks Texas governor's order limiting number of ballot drop-off sites". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  9. ^ "Harris County to Spend Unprecedented $27 Million on 2020 Elections". The Texan. August 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Killough, Ashley; Stracqualursi, Veronica. "Texas Supreme Court rules Harris County cannot mail out ballot applications to all registered voters". CNN. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  11. ^ Gershman, Jacob (2020-10-07). "Houston Can't Send Unsolicited Mail-In Ballot Applications, Judges Rule". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  12. ^ Simon, Scott (September 19, 2020). "Texas Supreme Court Blocks Harris County Clerk From Sending Voters Mail-In Ballots". NPR.
  13. ^ Schneider, Andrew (June 15, 2020). "New Harris County Clerk Unveils Voter Safety Initiatives". Houston Public Media.
  14. ^ Zedaker, Hannah (2020-07-23). "Harris County clerk requests early voting extension, pilots drive-thru voting ahead of November election". impact. Retrieved 2020-10-09.

Further reading

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