Abbott’s office said voters in Harris County were frustrated by confusion and delays including missing keys and insufficient paper ballots in Republican precincts.
HOUSTON — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called for an investigation into the “widespread problems with Harris County’s elections Tuesday.”
His office said in a release that voters in Harris County were frustrated by confusion and delays including missing keys, insufficient paper ballots in Republican precincts, staffing problems, and more.
Editor’s note: The main video in this story is from Nov. 10, 2022, when the Harris County GOP claimed thousands of voters were potentially disenfranchised on Election Day.
“I’m calling on the Secretary of State, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Texas Rangers to initiate investigations into allegations of improprieties in the way that the 2022 elections were conducted in Harris County,” Abbott said. “The allegations of election improprieties in our state’s largest county may result from anything ranging from malfeasance to blatant criminal conduct. Voters in Harris County deserve to know what happened. Integrity in the election process is essential. To achieve that standard, a thorough investigation is warranted.”
On Election Day all 782 Harris County polling locations were open until 8 p.m. — an extra hour – after a court order was filed over issues at the polls throughout the day.
Voters who got in line after 7 p.m. were able to cast provisional ballots but the Texas Supreme Court later said those votes would not be counted.
Issued were reported from across the county throughout the day from 21 of 44 machines being down at NRG Arena, to the election judge at BakerRipley on Navigation Boulevard saying they were slow to open the location because they didn’t have the proper election supplies dropped off, including the key to open voting machines.
A handful of voters at the BakerRipley location, which is traditionally majority democratic voters, told KHOU 11 they were waiting as early as 7 a.m. and they’d seen more than 200 people come and go without voting.
Issues were also reported at Tracy Gee Community Center, West Gray Multiservice Center in Montrose, and several other locations on Election Day.