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The former Republican candidate for Harris County judge has officially contested the results of the November race she lost to Democrat incumbent Lina Hidalgo, Houston-based media outlets reported.
Per Houston ABC affiliate KTRK, Alexandra del Moral Mealer tweeted on Thursday that she carefully reviewed and analyzed “the facts available” and “decided to file an election contest.”
Houston Daily reported in November that Mealer conceded her race with Hidalgo after the latter garnered 51% of the vote.
Mealer, an Army veteran, said in a statement accompanying her tweet announcing her decision that Harris County voters “should be deeply concerned” with how the county conducts elections.
“It is inexcusable that after two months, the public is no further along in knowing if, and to what extent, votes were suppressed,” she said.
According to Mealer, “serious operational issues” that occurred at certain precincts in the county raised speculation the county’s alleged failures may have “denied voters their right to vote.”
Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported as of Friday, the county judge’s race is among the 18 being contested.
The station reported that Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee issued a statement decrying the election contests as “a shameful attempt.”
"These election contests are frivolous attempts to overturn the votes of more than a million residents in the third largest county in the country,” Menefee said, per his office.
Hidalgo’s second term was barely a couple of days old when her office announced that she was taking a personal leave of absence to tend to her ill grandfather in Colombia.
Her absence takes her away from the first Harris County Commissioners Court meeting of the year on Tuesday though her deputy chief of staff, Chris Chu de Leon, said she might attend virtually.
As of press time, Hidalgo hasn’t issued a formal response to the challenge to her victory.