Posted on 12/05/2002 5:58:22 PM PST by Come And Take It
Three ballot counters have been dismissed from the Bexar County recount process as charges of cheating and intimidation rocked the 10th day of the tense ballot review.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Cliff Borofsky confirmed today that a ballot-counting team of three people has been dismissed from the recount process after officials confirmed there were "irregularities" in the ballot tallies from several precincts.
Borofsky said a review of one box of ballots determined that 10 votes were tallied for the Democratic candidates that should have been tallied for the Republican candidates.
District Clerk Reagan Greer, district judge candidate Jeff Mulliner and constable candidate Stephen Garza, all Republicans, called for the recount and are paying the cost.
Borofsky said all parties in the recount, including the challenging candidates and representatives for the Democratic and Republican parties, agreed to move forward with the count once the questionable counting team was removed.
Mark Garrett, one of the recounters who was dismissed, told the San Antonio Express-News late Wednesday that he had been secretly providing running tally numbers to Democratic candidates, but he denied making any deliberate errors in the tabulation.
Garrett, who said he has been a paid worker on the recount since it began Nov. 20, insisted he had done a good job. He charged that GOP poll watchers were trying to intimidate the Democratic counters.
Borofsky said a representative from the Texas secretary of state's office arrived at the Bexar County recounting warehouse early today to observe the recount. Secretary of state staffers had observed the recounting of early voting ballots, but they had not been monitoring the retabulation of Election Day ballots that began on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the Texas secretary of state's office, Ann McGeehan, said an inspector had been dispatched to Bexar County after her office received a number of calls from San Antonio, including a request from the Bexar County district attorney's office.
McGeehan said the inspector will remain in San Antonio until the ballot count is completed.
"We believe it is beneficial to have a nonpartisan observer from Austin there who can state what the rules are and what the election code says," McGeehan said.
ssylvester@express-news.net 12/05/2002
Yeah right, you POS!
I guess demanding honesty is intimidating for libs.
On NOW at RadioFR!
Doug from Upland interviews JAYNA DAVIS discussing the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
But it would be nice if, in the future, there was some rich bastard, grinch type orchestrating the firings.
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