300 ballots found in District 28 race; Cuellar in lead(Texas)

San Antonio Express-News ^ | 03/30/2004 | Rebeca Rodriguez

[SwinneySwitch]

More than 300 votes were discovered during a Zapata County recount in the District 28 congressional battle, giving Laredo's Henry Cuellar a slight lead over U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez.

The votes apparently came from one of the two early vote boxes, according to officials with the Zapata County Elections Department.

It was unclear this afternoon how large Cuellar's lead is.

The discovery of the missing votes is highly suspicious, according to Rodriguez.

“There's no doubt that there's some fraud going on, some illegal activities,” he said today.

Rodriguez is planning to file a lawsuit contesting the recount results, said his Austin-based attorney Buck Wood.

“I've been doing this for over 30 years and I've never seen 300 or so ballots appear suddenly,” said Wood, a former elections director for the Texas secretary of state's office.“To tell you that I'm suspicious and baffled is an understatement.”

Cuellar officials were not immediately available to comment today.Although Cuellar lives in Webb County, his mother lives in Zapata County.

The recount, which began Friday in Atascosa and Wilson counties, came after a hotly contested race in the battle for the seat, which represents 11 counties stretching from Hays in the north to Zapata in the south. Rodriguez, who led at the beginning of the recount by 145 votes, had increased his margin by five votes after recounts in five of the district's 11 counties.

Officials were conducting a recount in Webb County this afternoon and were scheduled to proceed with Bexar County and Hays County on Wednesday.

rrodriguez@express-news.net

[Bigun]

Quick! Check the poll lists!

If all these voters signed in the same handwriting, in alphabetical order, with the same pen and it took two weeks for the box to show up someone has been campaigning in the graveyard again!

[Bubba_Leroy]

Ballot Box Stuffing, a proud Texas democRAT tradition since the 1948 election for the United States Senate between Lyndon B. Johnson and former governor Coke Stevenson.

For five days after the runoff, Stevenson believed he had beat Lyndon in the closest senatorial election in American history. Out of nearly one million votes cast, he had a 112-vote lead. Then, on the sixth day, a precinct in Parr territory - Precinct 13 in Alice, in Jim Wells County - reported an amended return, with 203 additional votes, 201 of them for Johnson. This gave LBJ a plurality of 87 votes. It also gave him the mocking nickname of "Landslide Lyndon."

The results were challenged. Stevenson showed up with a Texas Ranger at a bank in Alice, which had the precinct boxes. ...

Stevenson inspected the tally sheets and found that the last 203 names on the list for Box 13 were in alphabetical order, and they were written in the same color ink.

When the case was taken to court in Jim Wells County, and Box 13 opened in court, the lists that Stevenson had seen were missing. The state Democratic Executive Committee certified Johnson as the nominee. A bitter Stevenson said, "I was beaten by a stuffed ballot box."

The Dukes of Duval.

[Dog Gone]

But Cuellar's crooks may be making a mistake that LBJ and the Duke of Duval, George Parr, were smart enough to avoid.

You need to be the last one to turn in a ballot box. Now Rodriguez knows how many dead voters he needs from his counties.

Of course, Cuellar may hold some Laredo boxes out for a last minute surge.

[deport]

Of course, Cuellar may hold some Laredo boxes out for a last minute surge.

---

Apparently this recount isn't occurring on the same day and time so it's very possible for other ballots to suddenly appear in some other boxes.......

[Dog Gone]

Releasing vote totals on a running basis is just begging for trouble. It's so stupid, you have to think it was deliberate.

[SwinneySwitch]

The demonrats practice on each other!

[victoryatallcosts]

LBJ learned that the hard way himself, in 1940 (I believe).

[kittymyrib]

Starr Co., also down in the Valley, was where the Miracle of Ballot Box 13 occured where votes appeared the day after the election to give Lyndon Johnson enough votes to run for Senate...all part of the rotten history of that part of Mexico that we call Texas.

[kittymyrib]

By the way, the miracle of Box 13 was that dead Mexicans voted...in alphabetical order.

[SwinneySwitch]

It was Jim Wells County see #22.

[Dog Gone]

Actually, that occurred in Jim Wells County, which is significantly north of the Valley, and it was orchestrated by the white land baron politicians who ruled their counties as if they were independent countries.

However, it certainly was dead hispanic voters who cast the margin of victory for LBJ.

[solo gringo]

well they had 40 something dead people ask for absentee ballots in San Antonio,For the demo primary election.I hope all the votes from Zapata were from live people.

[Dog Gone]

Zapata County was a problem from election night on.

Statement from Secretary of State Geoff Connor regarding reporting of election results in Zapata County:

For Immediate Release March 10, 2004

Contact: Jennifer Waisath (512) 463-9981

"I am extremely concerned and disappointed by the reporting of election results in Zapata County. My office made repeated requests for a timely processing of election returns and found local officials unresponsive. While other counties experienced some difficulties with equipment and their vote counts, they were still responsive to our requests for information.

Throughout this process, my office remained in contact not only with local officials but with the Attorney General's Office.

Of paramount concern is that election results are reported accurately, completely and in a timely fashion so as to ensure confidence in the integrity of our elections."

[Dog Gone]

There were only 2907 votes cast in this race in Zapata County. Now, they suddenly find another 300? I think somebody has been filling out some absentee ballots since March 9.

[solo gringo]

Thank god some one else has "ZERO" Cero Rodriquez to put up with.As a rancher if we needed help we had to call Mr.Bonilla. ZERO light were on but no one was at home if you know what i mean.We are two miles from the 28th and watch all the fun there.

[Dog Gone]

Well, as I indicated somewhere up above, if the Democrats are cheating here, which seems fairly likely, they are cheating in favor of the right candidate. Bush appointed him Texas Secretary of State.

He at least has a clue.

[solo gringo]

Governor Perry appt henry for sec of state.I am not a demo but henry did a good job.I can not say the same thing about ZERO.

[Dog Gone]

You're right. He was appointed Sec of State in 2001. Bush had already moved to the White House.

[Liberty Valance]

The more things change in S. Texas, the more they stay the same.
Or as Manuelito the bar owner used to say when the White Wing hunters came down and asked about the bird count..."not too many...but quite a few" :o)

[SwinneySwitch]

Manuelito probably meant: "there were quite a few doves but not many were brought down:o)