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Bexar County says late certification and voters-in-line delayed results; turnout soared in recent primary
Summary
Elections Administrator Michelle Carew told the commission the county saw nearly 300,000 voters in the primary (about 100,000 more than 2022) and that delayed state certification and thousands of voters still in line pushed final results later into the night.
Elections Administrator Michelle Carew told the Bexar County Elections Commission that turnout in the recent primary was unusually high and that reporting of results was delayed primarily because thousands of voters remained in line at poll sites.
"We had almost 300,000 of our registered voters come out and vote," Carew said during her presentation, noting that figure represented roughly a 100,000 increase compared with 2022. She said the county's last results for that night were posted at about 1:30 a.m. and that other comparable large counties reported results even later.
Carew said state certification timing and the presence of nearly 5,000 voters still in line after 7 p.m. contributed to slower reporting. She also described guidance from the Secretary of State's legal division advising the county to withhold early figures when long lines remained: "When I spoke to them and let them know that we had 5,000 voters in line waiting to vote, I was advised to not give out the numbers," she said.
The administrator also summarized potential impacts of recently proposed or passed legislation (Senate Bill 2753) that could further limit when early-voting numbers may be publicly released and require continuous early-voting windows. Carew said she and the county are watching developments closely and are preparing operational adjustments for November.
