HOUSTON – Harris County Elections officials provided an update following claims made by Secretary of State John Scott about vote count delays and reports of damaged ballots.
The votes placed at almost 500 of the 750 polling locations in Harris County have been tabulated, Beth Stevens, Harris County Chief Director of Voting, said during a press conference Wednesday. Stevens said they anticipate finishing the count by Wednesday afternoon or evening.
Stevens said Tuesday’s primary was the first election in two decades where paper ballots were used, and expressed that it was “unfortunate” the secretary of state’s office put out a statement addressing the delay.
“The secretary of state’s office knows that we are on track to complete our processing and counting of the ballots, and so it really was a jump of the gun and it’s just unfortunate that there was a negative attempt to make Harris County look bad at this moment, and completely unnecessary because we are processing the ballots as appropriate,” Stevens said.
Stevens said voters can be sure that the paper ballots and electronic media that go with them are the safest ballots in the country, however, they take time to tabulate in order to ensure security.
“...That is worth the effort of having the accuracy and security of their vote,” Stevens said.