Harris County approves nearly $500,000 in legal fees for former elections administrator

Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday agreed to pay nearly half a million dollars to former elections administrator Cliff Tatum to cover legal fees he faced from a criminal investigation into the 2022 midterm elections.

Court members discussed the payment during a short executive session and then returned to approve it without discussion. The reimbursement was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey the lone dissenter.

Tatum will be paid $493,092 by the county.

The payment will be made under a policy approved by Commissioners Court in 2022, to reimburse employees who need legal representation for a criminal investigation that “relates to matters within the scope of their employment.” To qualify for reimbursement, the investigation must be concluded and the targeted individual must have faced no charges, received a not guilty verdict or had the case dismissed.

After an investigation is concluded, the individual must provide copies of legal bills and other documentation to ensure they are qualified for reimbursement. Commissioners Court must approve any resulting payment. 

Ryan J. Meyer, an attorney with the Dallas office of law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is listed in documents as representing Tatum. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The November 2022 election was marred by paper ballot shortages at some polling locations and other administrative issues. The Texas Secretary of State’s office later published an audit that found “multiple failures” that hampered voting. 

Former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and the Texas Rangers launched an investigation into the election following complaints by voters. The two-year probe resulted in one unrelated criminal case — a Harris County employee, Darryl Blackburn, faces felony charges of falsifying employment time cards — but no findings of fraud or other election-related crimes and Tatum was cleared of any wrongdoing. 

Ogg said her office legally was required to open an investigation after citizens logged complaints about the election, largely regarding a “lack of paper ballots,” Ogg said.

Sean Teare defeated Ogg in March’s Democratic primary and assumed office Jan. 1.

The district attorney’s office on Thursday said it could not comment because of the ongoing case against Blackburn.

“As you’d expect, we’re aware of the county policy,” a spokesperson with the office said in an email. “We’re still evaluating the case to determine what steps, if any, to take in the future.”

Tatum was named the county’s election administrator in July 2022, making him the fifth person in five years to run Harris County elections. 

The ballot paper shortages and complaints about the vote tally led 21 losing GOP candidates to file lawsuits in an attempt to throw out the election results. A visiting judge upheld all but one of the election results, ruling that not enough votes were affected to change the outcome of those races.

The judge did throw out the results of the race for the 180th state district court, saying the number of questionable votes exceeded the 449-vote margin of victory. Democratic incumbent Judge DaSean Jones has appealed the ruling that would force him to face off against losing Republican challenger Tami Pierce.

Jones lost a race for the Texas Supreme Court last November, falling short against Republican incumbent Jimmy Blacklock. 

The Republican-dominated Texas Legislature passed a state law in 2023 eliminating Harris County’s election administrators office and transferring election duties back to the County Clerk and Tax Assessor offices. 

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