Seabrook council certifies May 3 election returns, swears in winners as voter-access concerns surface

Seabrook City Council on May 13 approved two ordinances canvassing the returns of recent elections and administered the oath of office to newly elected officials, while a member of the public urged the council to transfer future local election administration to Harris County after reporting voter-roster problems.

The council voted on and approved ordinance 2025-11, an ordinance canvassing the returns of a special bond election, and ordinance 2025-12, canvassing the returns of the May 3, 2025 general and special elections, both on a first and final reading. A councilmember moved to approve each ordinance; both motions were seconded and, according to the meeting record, the approvals were unanimous. The council then administered certificates of election and oaths of office to newly elected officials, who included Summer Sanford, Angeles Hernandez, Jared Sussle, Jim Sweeney and a person identified in the record as Salome.

Why it matters: canvassing and certifying returns officially finalizes election results and enables the successful candidates to assume office. The public comment that followed the certification flagged potential access problems at the polls during the May 3 election, which could affect trust in local election administration.

During the public-comment period, JP Byers told the council that turnout in the election had been strong — he cited 1,539 voters — but said at least 10 people who attempted to vote were not on the local voter roster. “I have no less than 10 people that came up here to try to vote, who have contacted me since then,” Byers said. He said those people reported waiting between an hour and a half and two hours before learning they were not on the roster; some then traveled to the county location and voted there. Byers urged the new council to “start immediately working towards getting our next election and all elections … pushed over to the county as quickly as possible.”

The transcript record shows the council took no formal action on that recommendation during the meeting; the recommendation was offered by a resident during public comment and not as a council motion or directive. The council’s formal actions were limited to approving the canvass ordinances, issuing certificates of election and administering oaths.

The oath ceremony followed the canvass votes. Meeting officials administered the statutory oath to the newly elected mayor and council members; the mayor identified himself in the record as Jim Sweeney. The council adjourned shortly after the oath administration.

The meeting record references the Texas Open Meetings Act during the public-comment instructions and cites the city charter in the text of ordinance 2025-12, which canvassed returns for proposed charter amendments. No additional details on next steps, timelines for implementing any changes to election administration, or a council vote on moving election administration to Harris County were provided in the meeting transcript.