Harris County election administrator resigns after 10K mail-in ballots were mischaracterized

Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Harris Co. election administrator resigns amid ballots not counted
Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria has resigned amid issues with counting mail-in ballots came to light over the weekend.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria has submitted her resignation after about 10,000 mail-in ballots were not originally added to the unofficial total on the night of the Primary Election.

Longoria issued her resignation during the Harris County Commissioners' Court on Tuesday. Her resignation will be effective as of July 1.

"I didn't meet my own standards, nor the standards set by commissioner's court," she said.

RELATED: 10K mail-in ballots not added into Harris County's election night count, officials say

After the deadline to file election results with the state was extended yesterday evening, Harris County officials say the votes are all finally in.

Over the weekend, it was revealed that 6,000 Democratic votes and 4,000 Republican votes did not get counted last Tuesday.

Those votes will be added to the official count, but both parties want to know how this happened, and how to keep it from happening again in the upcoming runoffs and in November during the General Election.

ABC13 spoke with a Republican precinct judge who also had issues during the primary. She, too, is concerned about future elections in the county.

SEE ALSO: State senator calls for elections administrator to resign after 10K mail-in ballots mischaracterized

Election officials say the discovery of 10,000 mischaracterized votes is a sign that the checks and balances are working. However, the political parties see things a bit differently.

"I have 1,400 voters that usually vote at this location, and we couldn't even get 580 through, and we were open until 9 o'clock," LaDonna Lubeck said. "We were sending them wherever they needed to go to go vote somewhere else."

A review is underway within the county to get some answers about the missing ballots. We expect to hear directly from Longoria during Tuesday's meeting.