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1st day sets voting records BY NANCY MARTINEZ Times staff writer One ballot at a time, hundreds of thousands of voters in Texas rewrote history Monday, casting more votes on the first day of an early voting period than ever before, state and local officials confirmed Tuesday. Laredo's 1,577 voters Monday, described by officials as moderate when weighed against the 97,076 people registered to vote in Webb County, didn't break any records, but local officials say they're optimistic about the overall turnout. Tuesday, elections offices across the state were buzzing with calls from people seeking information on voting sites. For...

Recount lawsuit ruling to be made in Laredo BY MATT JOYCE Associated Press Writer AUSTIN - Attorneys for Henry Cuellar Thursday accused U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of improperly "trolling" for ineligible voters in his effort to overturn election results after a recount of the District 28 Democratic primary. Cuellar's team made the arguments at a hearing as they began studying a list of about 260 Webb County voters that Rodriguez's camp identified as possibly illegal. Steve Bickerstaff, a Cuellar attorney, urged District Judge Joseph Hart of Austin to dismiss Rodriguez's lawsuit partly because Rodriguez failed to specify his complaints when...

Recount ongoing in congressional race Times staff reports Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio) gained three more votes Friday in the recount of ballots ordered by opponent Henry Cuellar of Laredo. After a recount of votes cast in two of the 11 counties that comprise Congressional District 28, Rodriguez picked up one vote in Wilson County and two in Atascosa Friday, increasing his margin of victory to 148 votes, according to the Austin-based Quorum Report. “Most eyes are focused on the recount in Bexar County. Both candidates and the local Democratic Party have agreed not to recount votes recorded on the...

Ciro surprised, disappointed by Cuellar's bid for Congress BY TRICIA CORTEZ Times staff writer If the federal courts and U.S. Department of Justice approve the new Texas redistricting map, half of Laredo will fall under the congressional district represented by Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio). Rodriguez, a six-year member of Congress and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, spoke with the Laredo Morning Times this past week about his current and future legislative priorities. He also spoke about the current political mood in Washington and what he described as the difficulties of working with the Republican administration and Republican-held Congress on...