Bexar County canvassing authority certifies Nov. 4 election; administrators defend timing of online results

The Bexar County Commissioners Court, sitting as the county canvassing authority, adopted an order certifying the results of the Nov. 4, 2025 joint constitutional amendment, general and bond elections.

Elections Administrator Michelle Carew presented the canvass summary and vote percentages for state propositions 1–17 and local propositions A and B, reporting that Prop A passed with 55.91% and Prop B with 52.14% in Bexar County. Carew also reviewed operational numbers, saying the county used 55 early-voting sites, 285 election-day sites and received 5,161 ballots by mail; she reported 166 provisional ballots cast on election day, with 54 ultimately counted.

The court voted to adopt the canvass order after a motion was moved and seconded; the motion carried with the court recording ‘‘aye’’ votes and the clerk announcing the motion carried.

Why online numbers lagged drew most of the follow-up questions. Commissioner Kelly asked why the county's online updates appeared delayed relative to media reports. Carew said the county posted final numbers on its website at 11:12 p.m. on election night and explained that posting cadence depended on returning central-count judges and tabulation paperwork. She cited provisions of the Texas Election Code (including section 127.131 as discussed in the meeting) to explain that early voting numbers were not released while voters remained in line.

Carew also described technology and process issues that affected some public-facing tools: the county migrated voter-registration data between systems and used a new tabulation platform called Teams, which reduced voter-registration backlogs but did not yet provide full functionality for GIS-based tools such as "Find My Voting Location." She said some provisional ballots reflected address mismatches created during the system transition rather than voter intent to cross county lines.

Commissioners pressed for clearer public messaging about how and when early returns would appear in future elections, noting legislative changes that will further restrict early-number releases. Carew acknowledged those communication needs and said staff would provide a follow-up briefing to the elections commission and prepare statutory citations and timeline materials for public presentations.

The court recessed its canvassing authority after the vote and reconvened in regular session to continue other agenda business.