Galveston County Commissioners Court placed a Friendswood ISD election contract and November polling locations on its consent agenda at a Monday, Aug. 31 special meeting.

The agenda listed early-voting sites and Election Day locations for the November 2026 general election as consent items, meaning they were set for approval without deliberation unless a commissioner pulled them for separate discussion. County Clerk Dwight D. Sullivan submitted the items.

Specific polling addresses were not included in the published agenda text. Voters can check galvestonvotes.org for the official list once posted.

The consent agenda also authorized County Judge Mark Henry to sign an election-services agreement between Friendswood ISD and the Galveston County Elections Division. The contract lets the county administer Friendswood ISD's portion of the November ballot. Seven additional election-services contracts covered League City, Galveston ISD, Santa Fe ISD, two municipal utility districts, a water control district and the Galveston County Navigation District.

Eight election-services contracts in all.

The election preparations arrive against the backdrop of a legal fight over the precinct boundaries that will govern the November vote. The Commissioners Court approved new commissioner, constable and justice of the peace precinct lines at a June 29 special meeting. In early August, Precinct 3 Constable Derreck Rose and two county residents filed an emergency petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to block those boundaries, arguing that redistricting between a primary and general election is unlawful, Houston Public Media reported Aug. 18.

Two commissioner precincts and three justice of the peace precincts on the November ballot now have boundaries that differ from those voters used in the March primary. Henry told Houston Public Media in June that the new map would improve judicial efficiency and strengthen Republican outcomes in the county. Sarah Chen, an attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, told Houston Public Media on Aug. 18 that the mid-year redistricting "creates so much confusion and chaos."

The Aug. 31 agenda also included a tax rate proposal required under the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act (SB 2). That item sat on the action agenda, requiring a separate vote, but the proposed rate was not listed in the agenda text. A 2027 budget workshop and a discussion of employee benefits were also on the agenda.

The federal voting rights case against the county appeared as a closed executive session item. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown has allowed that 2022 lawsuit to continue, rejecting the county's argument that the new map rendered it moot, according to Houston Public Media.

The Texas Supreme Court had not ruled on the emergency redistricting petition as of Sept. 1.