Posted on 10/25/2004 1:00:48 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
AUSTIN — Former Hidalgo County election judges filed a petition on Friday with the Texas secretary of state asking for poll inspectors to visit Weslaco precincts on Nov. 2, saying inexperienced judges could compromise the election.
"I feel the integrity of this race might be at risk," said Marcos Hernandez, former election judge for voting Precinct 112 in central Weslaco, who filed the petition.
Election inspectors from the secretary of state’s office were already planning to be in Hidalgo County and other Rio Grande Valley counties on Election Day because of previous petitions filed by other groups, said Bill Kenyon, spokesman for the secretary of state.
Hernandez and five other experienced judges — including two of his cousins and his aunt — were not re-appointed for this year’s election.
At least four of them had worked in the precinct for 18 years or more, they said.
Hidalgo County Commissioner Sylvia Handy had them removed from the annual appointment list to retaliate for the family supporting her political rivals in previous elections, said Luciano Garza, Hernandez’s cousin and a 20-year election judge veteran who was not re-appointed.
Garza worked as a grantwriter for Handy until she fired him in March, he said.
"Never mind that we need people who are experienced, who are trained, especially this election," Garza said. "She was given an opportunity to replace the election judges she didn’t like. ..."
At least some of the six new judges were replaced by people who work for Handy at Precinct 1, former judges said.
"It’s very obvious that it’s politics because I was replaced by one of her employees," Hernandez said.
The list of 86 election judges is compiled by the chairman of the political party that received the most votes for governor in the last race, according to Hidalgo County law.
County commissioners must then approve the list in July, according to law. They approved it in October this year.
Handy said she had nothing to do with recommending that experienced election judges and political rivals be replaced with her employees less than a month before a presidential election.
She did not realize the replaced judges were all in Garza’s family since many of them have different last names, she said.
That her employees were on the list she approved was coincidence, she said.
The list was developed by Hidalgo County Democratic Chairman Juan Maldonado, Handy said.
"Juan Maldonado asked me if it was OK if (my employees) work," Handy said. "I said, ‘Hey, if they have the time and they want to do it, then I don’t want to stop them.’"
Maldonado had a different story.
When Teresa Navarro, Hidalgo County elections administrator, brought him the list of appointees in early October and said he had one day to approve it, he had just begun work as the Democratic chairman.
He told her he did not want to be responsible for the list until after he had time to settle into his new job.
He said he does not know who was added or subtracted from the list, only that Handy was responsible.
"She’s the one who removed those people from that list," said Maldonado. "I have no idea who was removed, who was appointed."
To request that the secretary of state send inspectors, residents must collect 15 signatures. The petitions are confidential until after the elections, since inspectors don’t want to alert people who are planning to manipulate the polls, Kenyon said.
In a copy of Hernandez’s petition, obtained by Valley Freedom Newspapers on Friday, he cited "inexperienced election workers; six long-time judges were replaced" as the problem in Weslaco.
He asked for inspectors at all Weslaco precincts, according to the petition.
The six new judges must go through a three-hour training on how to run a polling place, Navarro said.
In addition, each polling place has an alternate judge and five to eight clerks, whom the election judge is responsible for training, she said.
Many of the new judges have worked on elections before and will be well-trained by Election Day, Navarro said.
"They shouldn’t be concerned about the polls because the judges are trained," Navarro said.
Navarro had nothing to do with compiling the list, but only brought it to the Commissioners Court for approval, she said. Each judge has a one-year term and should not expect to be re-appointed necessarily, she said.
"We have judges who are new, and they want a chance to be presiding judges," she said. "Everybody wants a chance."
Navarro requested that the state send inspectors on Nov. 2, but only as a matter of routine because she has done so every election since she was appointed in August 2000, she said. This year, she also asked the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor precincts in Hidalgo County because of complaints of voter intimidation she received in some colonias during the November 2002 election, she said.
In his 18 years as election judge, Hernandez said he has prided himself on being fair and impartial.
He was shocked when he received a letter in early October from Navarro saying he would not need to report for duty on Nov. 2, he said.
In a September letter from the elections office, he had been told to report for training.
The same happened to Julian Flores, a former election judge from Weslaco.
He signed the petition because he’s worried the precincts won’t have enough institutional knowledge on Election Day.
"I’m really disappointed," said Flores, who has been a judge for 18 years. "It’s a hard job. If they replace me with someone in their first election, it’s not going to be a day in the park for her."
Navarro said the September letters were sent out by mistake, and October letters were meant to correct the mistake and to reflect the appointment list approved by Hidalgo County Commissioners Court.
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Elizabeth Pierson covers the state capital for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Austin and can be reached at (512) 323-0622.
I remember my first election as a new democrat election judge, I was served subpoenas by both candidates running for a county office. Like I didn't have enough to worry about! Rat politics as usual
Make sure you don't have a repetition of the Box 13 issue from 1948. That's how "Landslide Lyndon" was elected to the Senate.
South Texas Ping!
bump!
All this stuff is making me uncomfortable about being a clerk which is probably the plan.
And this is before they open the cemetary gates down there.
Let not your heart be troubled. If your judge is a democrat the alternate judge should be a Republican.
Have you gone to training yet? Ours is tomorrow evening.
So there will be 2 judges? That's good. I just went to an inservice and film the SoS brought in. The republican chairman told me I would be needed to work the 2nd but he wasn't sure which location yet. He hasn't called me back yet.
I not really worried about judges but other people watching over my shoulder. I want to be very careful and not make any mistakes. I wouldn't want to be a democrat "gotcha"
If you have any questions about a voter or procedure, ask the judge or alternate judge. That's why they have the titles.
Have you early voted yet?
Not yet.
Friday is the last day to early vote and it sounds like you'll probably be working in a precinct other than your own on 11/2.
Yeah, My husband and I plan on doing it on our lunch break tomorrow.
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