By Juan Montoya
It was covered by a few broadcasters, but last week's order by a judge to annul a city commissioner's race in Weslaco could have long-reaching implications for other contested elections in the Rio Grande Valley.
Even more interesting was the fact that Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa was arguing for the admission of the contested votes, some of which were determined by the court to be cast illegally by mail and others which were cast by people not living in the address listed on the ballots.
Jude Menton Murray issued the order for a new election after he said he could not determine who the voters had cast their ballots for.
In November 2013, Lupe Rivera won the election against Letty Lopez by 16 votes and Lopez filed a lawsuit challenging at least 44 votes that she said were illegal. The suit also claimed that more than 20 mail-in ballots were illegally
cast for Rivera and did not comply with the Texas Election Code
requirements.
After whittling down Rivera's lead to only two votes, Murray said the court could not determine if Rivera's two-vote lead was enough to win the election and he ordered for a new election to be held as soon as possible.
Murray also rejected Hinojosa's defense of the mail-in ballots of "home is where the heart
is" residency standard after he fund that some of the disallowed ballots were cast by
voters claiming Rivera's childhood home as their address. Others were disallowed because the voters listed
on the ballot testified that they did not, in fact, cast those votes.
Murray's decision may have an impact on other elections across the Rio Grande Valley which have been decided by questionable mail-in ballots as well. There is a race in question in the San Benito ISD and others where candidates are considering challenging the results.
In fact, Mary Helen Flores, director of the Citizens Against Voter Abuse, said she is working with a candidate looking into questionable mail-in votes affecting several races in San Benito. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-Against-Voter-Abuse-Cameron-County-Texas/104410936351176
Murray's decision could well affect the way that courts now judge the election challenges where the mail-in ballots determine the outcome.
The Texas Election Code is very specific about mail-in ballot violations and states that:
Election Code Chapters 64 and 86 primarily govern the procedures related to ballots by mail and voter assistance, whether such assistance occurs at the polls or with regard to a ballot by mail. There are a number of requirements which, if not strictly adhered to, will render a ballot by mail uncountable, regardless of the
intent of the voter or any person providing assistance or transportation of the ballot.
Channel Five posted the briefs supporting both positions.
7 comments:
Gilberto Hinojosa has always supported "fraudulent" votes...from the "politiqueras" in Cameron County. As the Chair of the Dumbokratic Party for Texas he seeks to allow fraudulent votes in order to get Joe Rivera elected county judge. Gilbero as Dumbokratica Chair is upset since his county has a GOP County Judge. Gilberto is a slug and will accept deceipt, corruption and fraud to get his way. The corruption in this county can be attributed to Gilberto's politics.
Cameron and Hidalgo counties and the Texas Democratic Party would benefit tremendously by the complete and permanent absence of Gilberto Hinojosa and his enablers of corruption. He is a filthy crook who should be in prison.
Gilberto Hinojosa fights FOR corruption in the judiciary....the rest of us can't. And, as long as we have corrupt lawyers who can and do promote corruption from within the elections system....the rest of us common folk have an even more difficult task to rid the system of corruption; and corrupt lawyers.
New election will be held inN. Korea . Slim Kim will supervise.
Please everyone knows that Gilbert surrounds himself with some of the most corrupted people. He has followers like Sofia Benavides, Joe Rivera, Sylvia Perez and lots more. Why you ask? Because these people look the other way. They pay people to buy food for people after they take them to vote. A Taco for their vote. Triste, Triste, Triste!!!!!!!!!!
This story references San Benito. One of the SB Commissioner races was won by only 5 votes. Two local vote harvesters collected 9 or 10 of the 20 mail-in votes from poor and elderly voters! The tainted mail-ins made the difference in the election! Where are the Feds???
The Feds are guarding the "Fence". They are the Pipe Pipers of the New Millennium...
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