Nearly Five Hours After Close of Election Polls, Maverick County Election Officials Send Public Home and Tells Them to Wait for Election Results on Its Facebook Page

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

Maverick County residents continue waiting for November 3, 2026 general election results after nearly five hours, with election officials informing the public gathered outside the county courthouse awaiting for the election results to go home and read the results on their social media Facebook Page whenever they post the results.

According to accounts from those present, officials stated that results would be announced through the county’s Facebook page once counting was completed.

Many Maverick County voters waiting for the election results outside the front steps of the county courthouse complained about the lack of announcement of the election results after five hours since the polls closed. They cited a majority of Texas counties had already reported both the Early Voting and Election Day results to the Texas Secretary of State. In fact, many of the statewide races have already had its winners projected by the press, regardless of the late Maverick County election results. The only remaining elections of interest are the local county races.

The delay follows the same problem as in the previous election, when local results were not provided until the following morning, according to the account provided for this report.

Texas Election Code Section 66.056 requires the general custodian of election records to prepare an unofficial tabulation as precinct returns arrive. The tabulation must include votes received by each candidate and votes for and against each ballot measure, broken down by precinct and combined into overall totals.

Subsection (b) requires the custodian to periodically announce the current state of the tabulation. The provision does not establish a specific interval between announcements.

Section 127.1311 also requires central counting stations to release unofficial election results as soon as they are available after polls close. It allows the presiding judge, working with the county clerk, to withhold results until the last voter has voted.

The reported decision to announce results once counting is completed raises questions about whether partial unofficial totals are available and whether the required public updates are being provided.

Posting results on Facebook does not, by itself, establish a violation. However, using that platform does not remove the requirements to release available unofficial results and periodically announce the current tabulation.

Determining whether a violation occurred would require establishing when results became available, what public announcements were made and whether a permitted reason existed for withholding the totals. A five-hour wait alone does not establish a violation.

As residents continue waiting, questions remain about the reason for the delay and when Maverick County will release its first unofficial results.