By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews
COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — Two Republican state representatives have seen their election-night leads shrink as Collin County continues counting ballots in two closely contested Texas House races.
Rep. Keresa Richardson leads Democrat Brittany Black by just 38 votes in House District 61, down from 134 on election night. In House District 67, Rep. Jeff Leach holds a 125-vote lead over Democrat Jordan Wheatley, compared with 203 votes on November 3.
Both races remain unresolved, and election officials have now identified 126 potentially eligible provisional ballots in each district, along with additional ballots requiring further review.
Mail Ballots Narrow Both Races
The largest changes came Tuesday, when Collin County tabulated 2,078 additional mail ballots.
In HD-61, Black gained 190 votes, compared with 99 for Richardson and seven for Green Party candidate Anissa Chilmeran. Richardson’s lead dropped from 134 votes to 43.
In HD-67, Wheatley gained 174 votes to Leach’s 94, reducing Leach’s advantage from 203 votes to 123.
Wednesday afternoon’s update produced smaller changes.
Black received another 19 votes in HD-61, while Richardson added 14. The district recorded 35 additional ballots, including two without a vote in the contest.
Richardson now has 44,873 votes, Black has 44,835 and Chilmeran has 1,699.
In HD-67, Leach gained 21 votes compared with 19 for Wheatley, increasing his lead by two votes.
The latest unofficial totals show Leach with 42,681 votes and Wheatley with 42,556.
Between Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s reports, the county added 197 mail ballots to its countywide count, including 35 in HD-61 and 44 in HD-67.
County Identifies Provisional Ballots in Each District
Breaux’s latest figures provide the first district-specific accounting of provisional ballots awaiting final decisions in the two races.
In HD-61, 645 provisional ballots await ballot-board decisions. The county identified 126 as potentially eligible for counting, 19 requiring further review and 500 as potentially ineligible.
In HD-67, 672 provisional ballots remain pending. Of those, 126 are potentially eligible, 25 require additional review and 521 are potentially ineligible.
The totals include provisional ballots cast during early voting and on Election Day.
Breaux said the county’s voter registration team had completed its review of early-voting provisional ballots and expected to finish reviewing Election Day ballots Thursday.
The ballot board must still determine which ballots qualify for counting.
In HD-61, Richardson’s 38-vote lead is smaller than the number of provisional ballots identified as potentially eligible. In HD-67, the 126 potentially eligible ballots nearly equal Leach’s 125-vote advantage.
Those figures do not represent guaranteed additional votes. Some provisional ballots could be rejected, and accepted ballots may not contain a vote in the House contest.
Hundreds of Mail Ballots Also Outstanding
Breaux reported Wednesday morning that approximately 381 mail ballots remained to be tabulated countywide.
“According to our ballot board judge, these are just waiting to be tabulated,” Breaux said.
The afternoon update added 197 mail ballots to the countywide total. Breaux has not provided a revised outstanding-ballot count or a breakdown showing how many remaining mail ballots belong to either district.
Countywide, election officials identified 735 provisional ballots as potentially eligible, 149 requiring further review and 2,887 as potentially ineligible.
Those figures total 3,771 provisional ballots, compared with approximately 3,755 previously reported.
Asked about the difference, Breaux explained that preliminary totals can change as staff examine ballot records.
“Our team conducts audits and physical counts to ensure the accuracy of the processing of provisional ballots,” he said.
Candidates Await Final Results
Black said she has spent recent days canvassing and helping voters resolve ballot issues while awaiting updated results.
Richardson thanked supporters following Election Day, expressing appreciation for their trust and saying she was ready to continue representing HD-61.
In HD-67, Leach celebrated his election-night lead in a November 4 statement. Wheatley, meanwhile, emphasized that outstanding ballots still needed to be counted before the result could be finalized.
County Plans to Finish Friday
Breaux said Collin County intends to finish processing and counting the remaining ballots by Friday, November 13, with a county canvass planned for Monday, November 16.
“Our plan in Collin County is to be completed by Friday, November 13, so that I can canvass in court on Monday, November 16,” he said.
Breaux identified November 17 as the state’s canvass deadline.
Additional results will be posted as ballots are tabulated.
Richardson and Leach maintain their unofficial leads while county officials determine which provisional ballots qualify for counting and finish tabulating the remaining mail ballots.
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