Posted on 09/14/2003 5:20:40 PM PDT by anymouse
Officiating elections in Texas City usually affords a volunteer enough time to read a book.
But that wasn’t the case Saturday.
The election judge and her staff opened the doors to the Nessler Center at 7 a.m. An hour later, every election booth was full.
They stayed that way throughout the day, said Pat Newlin, who was the alternate election judge at the Nessler Center.
“We have three, four, maybe even five times more than usual,” said she said. “We usually read a book, knit or crochet. But not today.”
About one hour before the polls closed, a steady steam of voters were still arriving at the polls.
“I think it might have to do with combining the precincts,” said election judge Juanita Herrera.
Precincts were combined for the election to save money and because state officials were predicting a low voter turnout.
She said she suspected the brisk attendance at the Nessler Center could be attributed to particularly high interest in Propostion 12.
Texas voters were nearly split Saturday on whether to approve a proposition that would cap medical malpractice awards and could lead to broader limits on all civil lawsuits in an election to decide 22 constitutional amendments.
With about 75 percent of the anticipated vote counted, 52.3 percent of voters cast ballots to approve Proposition 12 and about 47.7 percent were against it. Both sides felt the vote was too close to call late Saturday.
‘‘We’re right on the verge of a major victory,’’ Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who campaigned for the lawsuit limitation amendment, said about an hour after the polls closed.
Opponents remained hopeful they would prevail.
‘‘We had a tremendous election day turnout today and it’s not over. It may be a long night. We’re optimistic,’’ said Craig McDonald, spokesman for Texans Against Prop 12.
Texas Secretary of State Geoffrey Connor had predicted turnout would be only about 9 percent of the state’s 12 million registered voters, since there were only amendments on the statewide ballot. But as votes streamed in Saturday night, he said turnout could reach about 10 percent.
Voters overwhelmingly approved propositions to allow home equity lines of credit and the refinancing of a home equity loan with a reverse mortgage. They also approved amendments to allow wineries to sell their products on premises, even in ‘‘dry’’ counties, and to allow issuance of up to $250 million in bonds for loans to defense communities trying to stave off base closures.
Proposition 12 became a big-money battle pitting doctors against plaintiffs’ lawyers as both sides tried to rally voters to their cause.
The lawsuit amendment would set a $750,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and would empower lawmakers to enact caps in all types of lawsuits. Awards against individual doctors would be limited to $250,000.
Doctors and business groups argued it would stop frivolous lawsuits and jury verdicts they call out of control.
Trial lawyers, consumer advocates and some anti-crime groups said the proposition would restrict the role of juries and allow negligent people or corporations to escape accountability.
A new state law that went into effect Sept. 1 allows lawmakers to set caps in medical malpractice cases, but proponents view the constitutional amendment as a guard against legal challenges to the law.
Supporters and opponents of the ballot measure raised at least $13 million for the fight.
Among other amendments voters were asked to decide were one to protect religious groups’ undeveloped land from taxation and one to allow more money to be taken out of the state’s $17 billion Permanent School Fund.
Early voting was more brisk than in recent Texas constitutional amendment elections. A total of 272,618 voters cast ballots early in the 15 most populous counties, compared with only about 200,000 early voters statewide in the 2001 constitutional amendments election.
This story contains information provided by the Associated Press.
First the three judge panel in Leredo sends the cowardly little Senate twerps back to their mommies and now the slimy POS ambulance chasers will have to sue fifty doctors to get the 40 million dollars in awards they once got from only one group of twelve morons.
I've heard this opinion expressed by several people, and I'm curious to know why you find this hard to believe. Really. No agenda here; just curiosity.
I think I'm probably typical of many of Saturday's voters -- I had some knowledge of some amendments, and more than a little knowledge about Prop 12. After all, it got a lot of advertising from both sides. And, unless the numbers have changed, Prop 12 drew the most votes of any proposition on the ballot. Like many others, when I came across a proposition I did not really understand, I just left it alone -- about five of them, I think. Several of the propositions were no-brainers (e.g. letting someone take office w/o an election if he was the only qualified candidate for the ballot).
And, the propositions I left untouched -- when I've learned more about them from local reporting, I discover I would have voted for them too, had I been informed at the time.
So, anyway, why the surprise? As far as I can tell (admitted, I didn't try very hard to get informed), the propositions were sane and sensible. Why not approve them?
I can't wait to hear the first sob-story from a shyster who was forced to quit his practice because of the low return on frivilous lawsuits. Oh, what a great day that will be!
This is why the libs almost always win. They know how to get the courts to delay and obfuscate until they can get what they want.
This is no victory yet, not until the courts have decided the amendment passes constituional muster.
Prop 12 asked to limit damages for 'pain and suffering' portions of settlements (punitive, right?)to 3/4 million. Prop 12 did not affect actual damages, as I understand it. Maybe the public did not fully appreciate the ridiculous and exhorbitant settlements that lined lawyers pockets, raised everyone's health insurance rates, and put doctors out of business.
My theory is that there are far too many sleazy lawyers in Texas who, along with their staffs, voted in droves to protect their sorry behinds.
Fortunately, there are more GOOD people who detest their profession.
All the outright lies being told about it, along with the fact that it is a fairly major change.
I election judged the last election here - my "protege" did it this time (but I was on call if an emergency cropped up). The phone didn't ring, and I spent a relaxing Saturday.
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