Lubbock County voters turned out in record midterm numbers on Tuesday. Then they had to wait. Full countywide results didn’t post until Wednesday, after election workers found a scanner problem at one early-voting site and rescanned thousands of ballots, Elections Administrator Troy Havard told KCBD.
Here’s what happened, what officials say it means for your vote, and how the local races came out. All results are unofficial until the county canvasses them.
What went wrong with the count
Havard told KCBD that a machine at one early-voting site malfunctioned. Workers spotted the error on Oct. 22 and replaced the machine, but the problem showed up again at the same site. Because state law doesn’t let election officials touch early-voting ballots until Election Day, the fix had to wait.
“The law does not allow me to do anything with early voting until after Election Day begins and I can’t do anything with the drives that have the votes on them until after 7 p.m. on Election Day,” Havard said, according to KCBD.
Workers rescanned 5,681 ballots from that site, KCBD reported. The Texas Secretary of State’s Legal Division also told the county to rescan all 1,700 limited ballots cast during early voting. Each one was two pieces of paper, and the central count judge and an alternate judge had to adjudicate every one.
Rescanning every ballot from that site was “the easiest, most transparent, and most secure method” of making sure every vote counted, Havard said. He told KCBD he still isn’t sure what caused the error: “At this point, I’m not even sure exactly how this happened.” But he said the system did its job. “Our audit process works. We found an issue and we resolved that issue.”
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal also reported on the county’s explanation for the delay.
Short on poll workers, long lines at some sites
Havard also said the county was stretched thin on Election Day. “We were running really tight on poll workers,” he told KCBD. Some volunteers and an election worker quit before Election Day, he said. Polls closed at 7 p.m., but a few vote centers still had lines and stayed open until about 9 p.m.
The next election is May 1, 2027. If you’d like to help, the county takes poll worker sign-ups online.
A midterm turnout record
About 101,125 Lubbock County voters cast ballots, according to election-night figures reported by the Lubbock Chronicle. That’s the most for a midterm in county records going back to 2006, the Chronicle reported, well ahead of 86,022 in 2018 and 80,576 in 2022. About 80,977 people voted early and 20,148 voted on Election Day, so roughly four in five ballots were cast before Tuesday.
Local races: who won
These are unofficial totals, as reported by the Lubbock Chronicle and Lubbock Lights.
- Lubbock County Clerk: Republican Sandy Garcia won with 63,638 votes (63.71%), defeating Democrat Kerri Poeling Padilla, who had 36,245 (36.29%).
- Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2: Republican Susan Rowley won with 62.37% over Nellie Hopson.
- Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3: Democrat Marina Garcia won with 59.93% over Traci Baxa.
- Lubbock Central Appraisal District board: Scott M. Dinger won Place 1 with 59.62% over Micah O’Hair. Jacky Howard won Place 2 with 73.58% over Garret Carmouche. Tom Keisling won Place 3 with 54.77% over Jon Bruegel (45.23%).
- Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (Buffalo Springs Lake): Greg Thornton led the at-large race with about 64%. Teresa Stephens won Precinct 4 with 67.11%. Michael Damron led a four-way race in Precinct 1 with 32.60%.
- Texas House District 84: Republican Rep. Carl Tepper won with 53.22% over Democrat Margaret Durham (46.78%).
Lubbock-Cooper ISD’s tax rate proposal fails
Voters rejected Lubbock-Cooper ISD’s Proposition A, 11,322 against (59.92%) to 7,573 for (40.08%), KCBD reported. The measure would have raised the district’s total tax rate from $1.1669 to $1.1969 per $100 of value. That’s about $65 a year for the average home, and it would have brought in about $3.85 million for teacher pay and operations.
The district is in its fourth year of deficit budgets. Supporters, including the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, had warned that a no vote could mean staff cuts, larger classes and fewer programs. Our Prop A explainer walks through what the measure would have done.
Superintendent Aaron Waldrip released a statement after the defeat, forwarded Wednesday, Nov. 5, by Sadie Alderson, Lubbock-Cooper ISD's public information director:
"Although the outcome of Proposition A is disappointing, our commitment to the students and families of Lubbock-Cooper ISD remains unchanged. We will continue putting the needs of our students first, making decisions in their best interests, and working to protect students and staff members from the impact of our ongoing budget deficit as best we can. We will continue to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce expenses while working to minimize the impact on our students, staff, and programs.
One of our biggest takeaways from this election is not necessarily the loss, but the fact that thousands of our community members showed up at the polls in support of Prop A, including numerous groups of parents and community leaders who worked tirelessly to advocate on the district's behalf and help educate our stakeholders about the importance of the VATRE. We recognize that supporting a tax increase is a significant ask, and we do not take the support, trust, or advocacy of our community members lightly.
We remain committed to serving our students and community to the very best of our ability, regardless of financial challenges."
Waldrip's statement does not address teacher pay plans, specific budget cuts or whether the board will call another election.
Lorenzo ISD: all three measures pass
In Lorenzo ISD, which sits in both Lubbock and Crosby counties, voters approved all three measures, according to combined totals reported by Lubbock Lights. Proposition A, $10.47 million in bonds, passed 223 to 156 (58.84%). Proposition B, $930,000 in refunding bonds, passed 210 to 169. The district’s voter-approval tax rate election passed 217 to 160 (57.56%).
What’s next
The results stay unofficial until they’re canvassed. The county’s central count will meet again Friday, Nov. 13, at 9 a.m. to handle late-arriving ballots. You can see our full Nov. 3 results roundup, including state and federal races, and check the latest numbers at votelubbock.gov.
Sources
- KCBD, Natalie Reyna, election results delay: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/11/05/lubbock-county-election-results-late-after-machine-error-ballot-rescans/
- Lubbock Chronicle, results: https://www.lubbockchronicle.com/p/lubbock-county-election-results-nov-3-2026
- Lubbock Chronicle, turnout record: https://www.lubbockchronicle.com/p/lubbock-county-midterm-turnout-record-november-3-2026
- Lubbock Lights, final results: https://lubbocklights.com/final-results/
- KCBD, Lubbock-Cooper ISD Prop A: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/11/04/voters-reject-lubbock-cooper-isd-tax-rate-increase/
- Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, delay: https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/11/04/lubbock-county-releases-2026-election-results-explains-delay-review/92595738007/
- Lubbock County Elections, poll workers: https://votelubbock.gov/election-information/poll-worker-information/
- Lubbock-Cooper ISD, Superintendent Aaron Waldrip statement on Proposition A, forwarded by Sadie Alderson, LCISD public information, Nov. 5, 2026
