Updated 4:13 p.m.
A new, corrected, statement issued by Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman stated that while Election Day results may face delays, the last ballots should be tallied by 2 A.M. after polls close.
Rather than sending election tallies electronically from 10 collection sites within the county to one downtown Houston reporting location, officials must have the results escorted by law enforcement from those sites to the central downtown location, a Harris County Clerk spokesperson said. This change in the reporting process was mandated in an advisory issued by the Texas Secretary of State Oct. 23.
Original post 2:16 p.m.
Harris County election results will not be available until at least 2 a.m. following Election Day Nov. 5.
The Texas Secretary of State issued an election advisory Oct. 23 that changed election reporting procedures after early voting in Harris County had already started.
To comply with new requirements, election officials at all 757 Harris County polling locations must bring physical ballot boxes to one downtown Houston reporting location rather than 10 reporting locations throughout the county that were previously approved, a notice from Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman stated.
Due to the change in procedures and the timing of said change, the memo from Trautman’s office stated that the earliest that Election Day results are predicted to be available is 2 a.m. Nov. 6. Early voting and mail-in ballots, however, will be available when polls close at 7 p.m.
