Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez Violating Legal Order

Leo Vasquez is thumbing his nose at the Texas Democratic Party and the United States Justice Department by violating an agreement that he signed to settle a lawsuit last year.

The state Democratic Party sued the Harris County Tax Office last year, accusing it of illegally rejecting thousands of voter registrations and amassing a backlog of tens of thousands of incomplete registrations without promptly informing people of their status.

Vasquez quickly signed an agreement to end the lawsuit and prevent any further discovery, embarrassment, and possible criminal charges and yet he has failed to abide by the agreement and live up to his word. Coming from the hand picked appointee after Paul Bettencourt quit just weeks after being elected should surprise no one.

One thing is for sure, Vasquez knows the suit can be reopened and this time there will be no settlement, but a trial instead, and who knows what. Vasquez was given a chance to correct the problems and gave his word that it would be done. The TDP will not give him a second chance to do so.

“The Texas Democratic Party only entered this settlement because it specifically requires Harris County to end practices we believe were responsible for rejecting tens of thousands of voter registration applications in the county last year.  Given the lagging efforts of Leo Vasquez, we will consider any necessary option to monitor the Harris County Voter Registration process to make sure this agreement is enforced and the rights of voters are protected.”