After problems conducting the March 2022 primary, the county hired a research firm to evaluate the elections division and recommend changes.
The state’s highest civil court offered clarification of the Texas ban on officials soliciting unrequested mail ballot applications.
Republican Party officials claim Longoria’s plan to have county employees transport ballots and equipment on election day violates election code.
A procedural error brought a county’s election commission meeting to a halt while a GOP lawsuit seeks state oversight for upcoming elections.
The GOP will seek to force the county to turn back on the livestream of the vote counting and implement independent oversight of upcoming elections in Harris County.
Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria said that 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican ballots were left out of election tallies; enough to change results in some close races.
The Harris County GOP chair has invoked election code requiring a court to intervene if election officials do not report unofficial results 24 hours after polls close.
Appointed Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria allegedly told the Secretary of State’s office she would not be able to complete an unofficial count by the statutory deadline, a Class B Misdemeanor.
Longoria is asking a federal judge to allow her to send out unsolicited mail ballot applications for the 2022 primary election — a practice prohibited under the state’s election reform laws.
The county’s newly created office of elections administrator struggled to manage operations Tuesday and is drawing further scrutiny from the Texas Secretary of State.
Instead of complying with instructions to rescind the appointment of an elections administrator, the Harris County attorney will draft a response to the attorney general on a challenge to the legality of the process.
