By the end of the night Tuesday, with 100% of Denton County precincts reporting, David Wylie had 31 more votes than Valerie Roehrs in the primary race to be the Republican nominee for Denton County Commissioner Precinct 4.
Normally, more votes at the end of the night means a candidate has won, and the other concedes. But Roehrs announced Thursday she will be waiting until the official canvass on Thursday, June 4.
“With several dozen military, provisional and other ballots still in the certification process, this election remains too close to call,” said Roehrs in a statement. “Every legal vote deserves to be counted, and every verification procedure deserves to be completed thoroughly before any final conclusions are reached.”
According to an email from the Denton County Election Office, 13 ballots still need to be qualified by the ballot board, which will happen Friday.
In addition, 19 ballots have a defect that the elections office will seek a fix for by Monday at 5 p.m, there are eight overseas ballots that have until Monday to arrive and 17 provisional are still outstanding.
Of the 17, seven have been recommended acceptable for counting and 10 have been recommended not acceptable, but the Early Voting Ballot Board will make the final decision Friday.
The vote totals were close all night Tuesday with Roehrs leading by less than 10 votes for most of the night before Wylie surged ahead in the final count.
He was speechless when the unofficial final count came in Tuesday, but said close elections often come down to the wire, and that he’ll respect the process as it plays out.
“I’m going to support the process,” he said. “That’s why we don’t know official results until they come in at the canvassing. It’s no different than any other year except that the two candidates are much closer.”
Roehrs hasn’t called for a recount yet, but said the election process should be reviewed with such a close count.
“It is important that all verification and certification processes are fully reviewed to ensure accuracy and maintain public confidence in the outcome,” she said. “We remain committed to respecting the integrity of the election process and will await the completion of certification before the campaign makes any further decisions.”
Wylie and Roehrs are fighting to be the Republican nominee for Denton County Commissioner Precinct 4 on the ballot of the Nov. 3 general election.
Once all ballots are counted and the results become official, the winner will face off against Democrat Stephanie Draper in November.
The winner in November will succeed Dianne Edmondson, who will end her tenure as commissioner on Jan. 1, 2027.
In the case Wylie’s lead stands when the results become official, he hopes to continue Edmondson’s hard work.
“Dianne served the county in a number of ways for many years, and served well. She built a communication with her constituents that I hope to continue,” he said. “We had the most votes in the primary and we have the most votes now, so we’re ready to go to work.”
