Liberty County approves canvas of Nov. 5 general election; elections official cites 31,270 valid votes

The Liberty County Commissioners Court approved the official canvas of the Nov. 5, 2024, general election at a special meeting Friday morning after county elections staff presented reconciled totals and supporting reports.

"According to our reconcile, we had 31,656 people voted," Miss Chambers, the county elections official, told the court. She said provisional ballots and votes by people not registered in the county were rejected during reconciliation, producing a certified total of 31,270 valid votes.

Miss Chambers told the court an export anomaly made the reports appear to show "28 of 29 per precincts." She said that extra line was a countywide reporting row created for reporting purposes and not a voting precinct; all 28 physical polling locations reported as expected, she said. She summarized the reporting locations as 22 election-day sites, five early-voting sites and one absentee location.

The elections official also presented precinct-by-precinct cumulative totals and an extensive write-in report for Constable 5. She said three signed copies of the canvas were required: one for the minutes, one for the official record and one for public inspection in the elections office. She said the canvases had been sent to Tarkington ISD and to two municipal utility districts and that a partial manual count was required as part of certification.

During discussion, a commissioner asked why only two votes were recorded on some municipal utility districts (MUDs). Miss Chambers explained that because some MUDs are formed before development and have very few residents, a district can have only one or two eligible voters. The presiding speaker responded, "It's like, where's the fairness of this?" and cited the local government code as the governing authority for those procedures. Miss Chambers told the court she supports posting special-district information online to improve transparency and noted past confusion involving TCEQ identifiers.

A motion to approve the Nov. 5, 2024 canvas was made and seconded; the presiding speaker called for a voice vote, asked for any further discussion and, after hearing none, announced the motion carried. The transcript records a subsequent motion to adjourn. The court also recorded that three signed copies of the approved canvas would be retained for the minutes, the official record and the elections office.

Copies of the certified canvas, precinct reports and the write-in report will remain on file with the elections office. The county noted that the partial manual count will be completed as part of the official certification process.