Texas election commissioner resigns after 10,000 uncounted ballots found in last week's primary

The elections commissioner in Texas' largest county has resigned after revelations that 10,000 ballots were not counted in the Houston area in last week’s primary election.

“The buck stops with me to address issues for voters, and I did not meet my own standard or the standard set by commissioners,” Harris County Elections Commissioner Isabel Longoria said Tuesday in announcing her resignation during a meeting of the county commission.

Longoria said her resignation would take effect July 1 to ensure "there is a presiding officer during the May and June elections and allows the election commission the time they need to find a replacement. I remain committed to the office and its mission and hope to aid in defeating harmful rhetoric to ensure successful elections in the future.”

You can see her resignation statement here.

The resignation came after the Harris County Republican Party sued the commissioner over the discovery of  the 10,000 uncounted ballots, which casts doubt on two closely contested races in the Houston area.

Last Tuesday's primary was the first to take placed under Texas' news election integrity laws that required new photo ID for absentee ballots.

The revelations about the uncounted votes comes just weeks after the Texas secretary of state finished an audit that found nearly 12,000 foreigners had made it into the state's voter rolls. Non-citizens are forbidden from voting in Texas.