Mattress Mack files lawsuit against Harris County regarding 2022 election problems

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- In an unusual move, furniture store owner and philanthropist Jim McIngvale, known as Mattress Mack, will file a lawsuit to get answers regarding the 2022 November election in Harris County.

The Gallery Furniture owner said that there were problems regarding the election. He has recently appeared in advertisements supporting Republican nominee Alexandra del Moral Mealer, who lost the Harris County Judge's race to incumbent Democrat Lina Hidalgo.

The lawsuit claims that Clifford Tatum, the Harris County Elections Administrator, is withholding documents that McIngvale believes will shed light on problems that came up during the election.

Those problems include shortages of paper ballots in some precincts, machine glitches, and even paper jams, all of which were admitted by the county in a report.

RELATED: Harris Co. election issues caused by short staffing, malfunctioning machines, paper jams, Astros win

Some leaders also cited the Houston Astros' World Series parade as the cause of why voting centers opened late.

A private investigator, Wayne Dolcefino, is working with Mattress Mack to obtain the documents. The lawsuit states that Harris County won't give up the documents due to other pending lawsuits.

"It's really not political. When the elections administrator was asked what went wrong with the election, the comment was the Astros parade, I mean, really? There's a problem with the process, and the process needs to be fair for all Houstonians and all Texans," McIngvale said.

There is no evidence of a case where a documented Harris County voter that wanted to vote was not able to cast a ballot due to any of the issues named.

SEE ALSO: Harris County district attorney launches investigation into reported election issues

There is some talk about whether the election should be redone in Republican circles.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick called for a new election, which only a court can order. And the evidence for it would have to be extraordinary.

The Harris County Attorney's Office spoke with ABC13 on Monday and said that the documents being requested by Mattress Mack and Dolcefino were handled the same way as any other requests.

A spokesperson from the office said it will evaluate the lawsuit and let the court handle it.