The election administrator for Harris County, Texas, announced Tuesday that she is stepping from her post following a slew of primary day problems, including the discovery of 10,000 mail-in ballots that went uncounted.
Isabel Longoria, who has overseen elections in the state’s largest county since 2020, said her resignation would go into effect July 1. Her announcement comes after officials from both major political parties called for her resignation after the calamitous first-in-the-nation 2022 primary held March 1.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1646784080799,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-7410-df17-a7ff-7edd9d280000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1646784080799,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-7410-df17-a7ff-7edd9d280000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_46783833", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"968976"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-6bfa-d8c1-ab7f-6bfb95d10000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
“I think this date ensures that there is a presiding officer during the May and June elections and allows the election commission the time they need to find a replacement,” Longoria said during a commissioner’s court meeting. “I remain committed to the office and its mission and hope to aid in defeating harmful rhetoric to ensure successful elections in the future.”
10,000 UNCOUNTED BALLOTS FOUND IN TEXAS COUNTY
The Harris County Republican Party is additionally suing the county for several alleged violations of the Texas election code. Longoria is also being sued by the state GOP for an alleged breach of contract.
“What we hope to come out of this is either Isabel Longoria and her management team resign or are fired but more importantly for the court to actually step in and provide independent oversight over the election process,” Cindy Siegel, chairwoman of the Harris County GOP, said Monday.
A spokesperson for the county’s election office told the Texas Tribune that it is still looking into the GOP lawsuit but noted that the filing contained “many exaggerated and misleading statements regarding what actually happened on Election Day in Harris County.”
Lina Hidalgo, a judge in Harris County who previously supported Longoria, also called for the administrator to step down. Hidalgo said she would be working with the elections commission to find an appropriate replacement.
Officials from both political parties signed a document that acknowledged the 10,000-vote difference in votes initially tabulated as well as the number of voters. The officials also insisted that “further investigation [is] needed.” The discrepancy was noted by the Texas secretary of state’s office, which reached out to the county. Officials from the county, which includes much of Houston, admitted the difference in the number of ballots to the public over the weekend.
Two close Democratic races were affected by the discrepancies, as 6,000 Democratic ballots were among those missing. The second candidate for the attorney general primary runoff is still unknown, and a close state representative race also hangs in the balance.
Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston, Texas, extended his lead over civil rights attorney Lee Merritt for the second slot for attorney general, according to an updated vote count Tuesday. Jaworski now leads Merritt by over 6,000 votes and, if solidified, he will face Rochelle Garza in the May runoff.
The updated numbers also show an extended lead for incumbent state Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. over challenger Candis Houston.
Dutton said he was baffled that 10,000 ballots had gone missing without anyone noticing.
“It seems to me that somebody should’ve known that 10,000 ballots were missing,” Dutton said. “If 10,000 ballots were missing and nobody knew that, God help us.”
In addition, 4,000 initially uncounted Republican ballots have been added to an updated tally but will not affect the outcome of any contests.
Votes were expected to be finalized at a meeting of the Central County Committee on Tuesday, according to ABC13. The Washington Examiner reached out to the Harris County elections department to determine when the final update is expected but did not hear back at the time of publishing.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The vote discrepancy was not the only issue to plague election officials during the March 1 primary. Roughly 1,600 damaged ballot sheets caused a counting delay, two voting locations reported minor technical difficulties with their machines, and the county faced a shortage of election workers.
Thousands of mail-in ballots were also rejected on Election Day due to the ballots lacking proper identification, according to the Associated Press.
