HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The office of Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria on Saturday announced roughly 10,000 mail-in votes were not added to the final March primary count because of oversight.

What You Need To Know

  • The office of Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria on Saturday announced about 10,000 mail-in votes were not added to the final primary count

  • The issue was attributed to oversight and resulted in about 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican votes not being added

  • According to Longoria’s office, the ballots were scanned into a computer but never tallied or submitted

  • The votes will be added on Tuesday and could affect two Democratic races

According to the Houston Chronicle, about 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican votes were identified Saturday morning.

Those mail votes will be added to the final tally on Tuesday, and they could affect two Democratic races.

Longoria’s office in a news release said the oversight occurred between 1 a.m. and 4 p.m. and that election ballots were scanned into a computer but never counted or submitted.

The county will investigate the incident with the Secretary of State’s office.

What could change? According to a report from the Texas Tribune, the Texas House race between incumbent state Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr. and challenger Candis Houston was only separated by 136 votes.

In addition, the Harris County votes could also determine who Democrat Rochelle Garza faces in the primary runoff for Texas attorney general.

“While we understand the seriousness of this error, the ability to identify and correct this issue is a result of a lengthy, rigorous process and is a positive example of the process ultimately working as it should,” Longoria wrote in the news release.

Prior to Saturday’s revelation, Texas. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement in which he criticized Longoria and Harris County for the handling of votes, claiming it was “train-wrecked.”