Overview
- Gov. Greg Abbott announced the appointment of Robert S. Howden on Friday, with the change taking effect the day after the announcement and Howden assuming duties immediately.
- Howden can serve without legislative approval until the Texas Senate considers his confirmation when the Legislature returns in January.
- He replaces Jane Nelson, who left after three and a half years following public clashes with Republican leaders over proposals to require party registration for primary voting and disputes with the attorney general.
- Under Nelson, the office gave the U.S. Justice Department access to the full voter roll and adopted the SAVE database for citizenship checks, moves that prompted at least two lawsuits from voting rights groups and strained relations with some county election officials.
- Howden is a longtime Republican staffer who worked for governors Rick Perry and Bill Clements and served as a senior adviser to Abbott, and his stewardship could shape how Texas handles election administration, pending litigation, and border relations in the run-up to the November midterms.