Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia were the only members present to vote; the Texas Election Code provides that two members constitute a quorum to canvass an election.
The results included over 2,000 provisional ballots cast during a one-hour extended voting period on Election Day. The extension was granted by the 334th District Court after the Texas Civil Rights project filed a lawsuit to keep the polls open until 8 p.m. due to some locations failing to open on time at 7 a.m.
The Texas Supreme Court then issued a stay on the lower court’s order and directed the Harris County Office of the Elections Administrator to segregate the ballots cast between 7-8 p.m. On Nov. 21, the Texas Attorney General’s office asked the Texas Supreme Court to order the county to throw out the late-cast ballots entirely, according to the petition for a writ of mandamus.
The Texas Supreme Court did not rule directly on the attorney general’s petition, instead issuing an order just before the Nov. 22 meeting directing commissioners to conduct the canvass with the provisional ballots included in the final count.
But because the provisional ballots had the potential to change the outcome of certain races, the Texas Supreme Court’s order also made the election’s office create a second, separate report for the provisional ballots “so that the parties can assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted.”
