Posted on 12/11/2004 7:05:07 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Master of discovery, committee appointed for House election challenges.
Speaker of the House Tom Craddick appointed Rep. Will Hartnett, a Republican from Dallas, Monday to act as the “master of discovery” for the three state House elections challenged from the Nov. 2 election, including results of District 35. Hartnett is a Dallas lawyer and chairs the House Judicial Affairs Committee. Also on Monday, Craddick appointed a nine-member committee, including five Republicans and four Democrats, to investigate the contested races.
Last week Republican Eric Opiela filed a challenge in the Texas Secretary of State’s office regarding the results of the District 35 election Nov. 2. Results from the election show Opiela lost to Democrat Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles by more than 850 votes. Opiela had a recount taken last week for votes in Bee, Jim Wells and Karnes counties. According to original returns, Toureilles had 23,138 votes, or 50.94 percent, to Opiela’s 22,284, or 49.06. The results of the recount made little difference in the voting totals.
“I believe we have uncovered massive fraud,” said Opiela Monday. Bee and Jim Wells counties, both won by Toureilles in November, are the focus of Opiela’s investigation.
“We have 952 copies of applications of mail-in ballots that were fraudulently cast in Bee County,” he claimed. Opiela also said “at least 10” mail-in ballots were initially rejected and then okayed by election judge Sid Arismendez. “There must of been some disagreement among the early ballot judges,” he said.
Regarding Bee County Judge Jimmy Martinez’s comments that last week’s recount was not part of a discovery process, Opiela said, “I beg to differ with him. It is a vital part of this process. I’m not saying the judge did anything wrong, but we definitely saw the recount as part of the discovery process.” He added, “I’m very happy we did it (recount). We do see patterns of fraud.”
One example given was voters registered in both Harris and Bee County. “Between 10 and 15 mail-in ballots were sent to the same apartment in Houston,” Opiela said. “That’s obviously a fraudulent activity.”
As for Jim Wells County, Opiela said, “There were 113 unsigned and mail-in and election day ballots all cast for my opponent.” He listed other irregularities including the same handwriting on individual applications.
“I think my opponent and her campaign staff need to take responsibility for the fraud they perpetrated on the people of District 35,” Opiela said. “I believe we have a rock-solid case for a special election.” He added, “We haven’t even began to catalogue all of the voter fraud we have found.”
“I think we will get a fair shake out of this,” Toureilles said Tuesday of the challenge. “He can make all these allegations, but much of what he is saying about illegal ballots is not accurate.”
Referring to House Bill 54, she said, “You can assist as many people as you want with mail-in ballots. What you cannot do is witness more than one X for someone who is unable to sign their name. How you assist a voter is very specific in the statute.”
She continued, “He can claim thousands and thousands of illegal ballots, but there are very specific criteria in the Texas election code as to what is and what is not an illegal ballot.”
Toureilles said she has hired an Austin law firm to represent her in the challenge process. “They know the election code,” she said. “I’m not taking anything for granted. I intend to defend the voters in District 35.”
Named to the investigating committee by Craddick were Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, as the panel's chairman and Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, as vice chairman. Both are lawyers. Keel is a former Travis County sheriff and chairs the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. Other members appointed by Craddick include Republican Reps. Mary Deny of Aubrey, Susan Gratia Hupp of Lampasas, Phil King of Weatherford and Larry Phillips of Sherman, and Democratic Reps. Helen Giddings of Dallas, Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City and Alan Ritter of Nederland.
With the appointments, the committee and Hartnett will act as a court and may take testimony, order discovery, listen to motions, or order any action necessary for determination of the issue. After the hearings, a report of the findings is made to the chief clerk and Craddick and the Texas House will set a date to take action on the report. If the House determines that it can declare the true outcome of the election, it can. If the House can’t declare the true outcome, it may declare the election void and direct the governor to order a new election.
The most high-profile of the cases facing Hartnett and the committee is that of incumbent Republican Rep. Talmadge Heflin, chair of the House budget-writing committee, who lost to Democratic challenger Hubert Vo by 26 votes in Harris County. Also, Republican Rep. Jack Stick of Austin filed a challenge over his election day defeat to Democrat Mark Strama, who defeated Stick by 569 votes.
Perhaps most bizarre is the single challenge in the state Senate where state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, faces a challenge from his former mistress and write-in candidate Susan Delgado. She charges Gallegos doesn't live in the district he represents.
There have been 112 contested elections in the Texas Legislature since 1846.
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