Commissioners accept canvass of March 3 joint primary; elections staff report partial manual audit underway

The Liberty County Commissioners Court on March 10 accepted the official canvass of the March 3 joint primary election and heard staff summarize how the election went and next steps in certification.

Elections official Lee told the court the county completed the canvass material and that a "partial manual" hand count — selected at random by the Secretary of State for specified races and precincts — is underway to verify machine counts. Lee said, "we are doing the partial manual... they're they hand count them to compare them to the machine count to verify that the machines are calculated correctly."

Lee thanked poll workers, students and county staff for long hours and called out the county's new van as helpful for election operations. Commissioners and staff discussed minor operational issues observed on Election Day, including signage at polling locations and software quirks reported elsewhere; staff said they would investigate signage enforcement and offer guidance for future elections.

The court voted to accept the canvass records; party-level canvases will be sent to Democratic and Republican party officials for their acceptance. Staff said that once the county completes its audit and any required follow-up, the canvass will be finalized.

Why it matters: Acceptance of the canvass is a formal step in certifying election results and triggers related post-election procedures including audits and party canvases.

Next steps: County elections staff will complete the Secretary-of-State-ordered partial manual audit, send party canvases for acceptance, and produce any post-election reports required by statute or state guidance.