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A famed furniture store proprietor’s lawsuit seeks access to public election records in hopes of finding out what plagued the recent contest in Harris County, per Houston-based media outlets.
Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale initiated legal action on Tuesday, insisting he’s not advocating for one side of the political spectrum.
"This is not about political parties,” Mack said. Houston FOX affiliate KRIV reported. “It's about the election process."
Known for his ubiquitous commercials, massive sports bets and philanthropy, the 72-year-old businessman asserts that Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum refuses to release information that may shed light on the November 2022 races that were purportedly rife with delay and dysfunction, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.
His suit comes on the heels of several Republicans challenging their contests, including Alexandra del Moral Mealer, who unsuccessful sought to unseat Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
According to a Houston Daily report in November, voters complained about malfunctioning computers and paper ballot shortages at several polling locations.
The problems in question prompted Gov. Greg Abbott, who secured a third term in the same election by defeating former congressman Beto O’Rourke, to call for an investigation and the Harris County Republican Party to sue the county and Tatum.
The State of Texas had audited Harris County for how it handled the hotly contested 2020 presidential election, declaring that COVID-related “irregularities” didn’t impact the security of the Lone Star State’s elections two years ago.
Mack further stated his suit wants to “make the election process fair for everybody,” KRIV reported.
“We firmly believe every Texan should have a right to vote, and their vote should be counted,” he said. "And we want to know from the Harris County Election Board whether this was incompetence, negligence, corruption or a combination of all three."
Per KTRK, Mack questioned the county citing the Houston Astros’ World Series victory as a factor in its election hiccups.
“When the elections administrator was asked what went wrong with the election, the comment was the Astros parade, I mean, really,” he said. “There's a problem with the process, and the process needs to be fair for all Houstonians and all Texans.”