Texas Harris County 189th Judicial District Election Contest

Election contest filed by Erin Elizabeth Lunceford, the Republican candidate for the 189th Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas, against her Democratic opponent Tamika Craft. In the petition, Lunceford asserts that Harris County “totally botched the security, integrity, and reliability of the purported election outcomes arising out of the November 8, 2022” election. She also alleges that the results of the canvass of Harris County’s election results show Craft winning by a margin of 0.26%, but contends that “this purported 2,743 vote margin, as reported by the final canvass, is not the true outcome…as it is not possible to ascertain the true outcome of this contested race, due to how poorly the election was conducted, coupled with the fact that illegal votes were accepted, while legal votes were rejected.” Lunceford ultimately asks the court to “void” the Nov. 8, 2022 election results and to “subtract[] all illegal votes that were cast and counted…and after consideration of all of the actions of [the Harris County election administrator] and all other election officials which occurred before, during, and after the General Election, declare that the true outcome of the election cannot be ascertained.” She also requests that the court order a new election for the 189th Judicial District race if necessary after considering all of the evidence presented in the petition. 

A trial was held in August 2023. On Nov. 9, 2023, the election contest was dismissed. On Dec. 11, 2023, Lunceford appealed the dismissal of her election contest.

STATUS: Litigation is ongoing in the Texas First Court of Appeals.

Last updated: April 17, 2024 2:38 pm EST