Houston furniture mogul Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale is suing Harris County election officials for records connected to the election.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographerHouston furniture mogul Jim McIngvale, otherwise known as "Mattress Mack," is suing Harris County over the 2022 election.
The Gallery Furniture owner and sports gambling enthusiast held a press conference Tuesday morning to talk about the lawsuit against Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum, according to the Houston Chronicle's Matt deGrood.
Mattress Mack's lawsuit aims to "force transparency in our elections," according to a press release issued Monday.
"The news conference will announce the filing of a lawsuit against the Harris County Elections Administrator's office for refusing to turn over public records related to the November 2022 election in Harris County," Mattress Mack's representative's said in the release. Houston attorney Jeff Diamant is representing Mattress Mack in court, according to the release.
Mattress Mack's lawsuit comes as a slew of losing Harris County GOP candidates seek to overturn the results of their 2022 election contests. Most notable among the election challengers is Alex Mealer, who lost her bid for Harris County Judge to incumbent Lina Hidalgo. Mattress Mack was a vocal Mealer supporter during her campaign.
Harris County officials released a report on Dec. 30 detailing their inquiry into a number of issues at polling places on election day 2022, ranging from late openings to paper ballot shortages. Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum said in the report that the results of the investigation are "inconclusive" thus far.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for a do-over of the 2022 election in Harris County earlier this month. Patrick claimed that a paper ballot shortage at dozens of polling places across the county denied voters the chance to cast ballots, according to the Chronicle's Jen Rice. Patrick said he didn't know if any voters were actually denied a chance to vote as a result of ballot shortages, the Chronicle's Rice reported.
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