More than a week after a series of issues and mounting complaints about the 2022 primary elections, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria verbally submitted her resignation Tuesday to commissioners.“Today I am submitting my resignation, effective July 1,” Longoria said. “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. I remain committed to the office and its mission and hope to aid in defeating harmful rhetoric to ensure successful elections in the future.”
The announcement comes after elections officials over the weekend revealed around 10,000 mail ballots were not entered into the Election Night count.
The primary also saw longer-than-usual vote-counting times, staffing challenges, and equipment issues.
“The buck stops with me to address issues for voters and I did not meet my own standard or the standard set by commissioners,” Longoria said.
Before Longoria’s appearance, Judge Lina Hidalgo addressed last week’s elections, saying that she had spoken with Longoria and expressed a desire for “change in leadership.”
According to reporter Adam Bennett, who’s monitoring commissioners court, Hidalgo said three things need to happen.
- Protect continuity with three elections coming up (May 7 special, May 24 runoff, Nov. 8 general)
- Work w/elections commission to find new leadership after a “thorough search”
- ID issues from primary & find solutions
Harris County commissioners are looking for answers to what went wrong during the Texas primary election.
On Monday, the Harris County GOP held a press conference to announce a new lawsuit against Longoria for what they called the “worst elections fiasco in Texas history.”
The Harris County GOP has been calling for Longoria’s resignation since last week and after she made the announcement, the party released the following statement:
“Harris County is the third-largest county in the country with the longest ballot nationwide – it’s critical that we get our elections right. The widespread problems in the Primary Election are inexcusable due to the incompetence of Democrat leader Lina Hidalgo and her unelected, unqualified Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria. That’s why the Harris County GOP took action by filing a lawsuit, calling for Longoria to be fired or resign, and requesting the appointment of an independent elections overseer. While Longoria’s resignation today is a good first step, it is not the only step that the Harris County voter needs to see take place before the next election is held. Longoria cannot remain in place for the May 7 local elections or the May 24 primary runoff without independent oversight from either the court or the Secretary of State. Because she has resigned in place, independent oversight is needed immediately, independent of Harris County and the Harris County elections office.”
Longoria spoke out against claims of voting delays, saying the counting process was normal for an election. For the unentered ballots, the administrator’s office said they would be transparent and provide updates when they were available.
All 10,000 are expected to be counted by Tuesday.
