Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. 

All government information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has not been sought. The Public Information Act does not require the governmental body to produce information which is not in existence or to create new information, calculate statistics, perform legal research, or to prepare answers to questions.

Only written requests trigger a governmental body's obligations under the Public Information Act. For more information, please see the Public Information Act Posting (Texas Attorney General).

The Harris County Clerk's Office Elections Department is committed to open government. In the process of submitting a public information request it is important to understand the following:

• Information requests must be in writing;
• Requests need to include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the information requested;
• Requests must be addressed to the Officer for Public Information or the Chief Administrative Officer;
• Requests may be submitted by:

Regular mail:

Harris County Clerk's Office Elections Department

P.O. Box 1148

Houston, TX 77251-1148

Attn: Public Information

Email: [email protected]

In-Person:

**Please do not include a Public Information Act / Open Records Request with any other Harris County Clerk's Office Elections Department correspondence**

Charges may be incurred for a Public Information Act request. If charges exceed $40, an itemized statement of estimated charges will be provided by the Harris County Clerk's Office Elections Department to the requestor prior to proceeding.

For more information on cost estimate calculations, see the Public Information Cost Estimate Model (Texas Attorney General).

You must respond to any written estimate of charges within ten (10) business days of the date the governmental body sent it or the request is considered automatically withdrawn.

If estimated costs exceed $100.00 the governmental body may require a repayment or deposit. You may ask the governmental body to determine if providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or cost reduction.

Make a timely payment for all mutually agreed charges. A governmental body can demand payment of overdue balances exceeding $100.00, or obtain a security deposit, before processing additional requests from you.

• Prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected;
• Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements;
• Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions, like the voting record of public officials, and other information;
• Receive a written itemized statement of estimated charges, when charges will exceed $40, in advance of work being started and opportunity to modify the request in response to the itemized statement;
• Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information or both;
• A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body determines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public;
• Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy;
• Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the Office of the Attorney General. Complaints of other possible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than a state agency, is located. If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

• Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying public information and inform requestors of these procedures;
• Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation in accordance with ADA requirements;
• Be informed about open records laws and educate employees on the requirements of those laws;
• Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than $40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts the charges, or has amended the request, in writing before finalizing the request;
• Inform the requestor if the information cannot be provided promptly and set a date and time to provide it within a reasonable time;
• Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding any information the governmental body wishes to withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or a redacted copy, to the requestor;
• Segregate public information from information that maybe withheld and provide that public information promptly;
• Make a good faith attempt to inform third parties when their proprietary information is being requested from the governmental body;
• Respond in writing to all written communications from the Office of the Attorney General regarding charges for the information. Respond to the Office of the Attorney General regarding complaints about violations of the Act.