Smith County elections administrator resigns after 3 months on job

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Smith County’s elections administrator has resigned, effective at the end of this week, the county says, two days after local elections were held.

According to Smith County spokesperson Casey Murphy, Smith County Elections Administrator Denise Hernandez submitted a letter of resignation Monday afternoon to Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran. Hernandez had only been in that position for three months. She was previously Henderson County elections administrator, a position she’d held since 2008.

Hernandez resigned her position, effective Friday, May 7. Her letter of resignation will be submitted to the Smith County Elections Commission, which is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 6, Murphy says.

The Elections Commission -- made up of Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran, Tax Assessor-Collector Gary Barber, County Clerk Karen Phillips, Democratic Party Chair Michael Tolbert and Republican Party Chair David Stein – is established by statute and is tasked with the authority to hire and fire an Elections Administrator.