May election botched by district boundary mix-up

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May election botched by district boundary mix-up

 

Monday, July 16, 2012

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We've learned that not everyone in Harris County got to have their voice heard in May's primary election.

Because of a mix-up with the new district boundaries, not everyone who was qualified to vote in a school trustee race was able to and some voters who weren't supposed to, were allowed to cast a ballot. And the implications of all this may be far reaching.

There are a lot of lawyers looking at this problem and a lot of concerns about possible federal lawsuits by disenfranchised voters. We are just two weeks away from the runoff election between Democrats for county school trustee Position 6, and no one knows if it will count, or in fact, whether the primary counted in the first place.

When voters cast their ballots in two weeks in a number of run off races, one may still be in limbo. But while deciding the race between political newcomer Erica S. Lee and former city council member Jarvis Johnson for Harris County school trustee Position 6 is important, First Assistant County Attorney Terry O'Rourke is worried about something bigger.

"One person, one vote and it just didn't happen," he said.

O'Rourke and the office is now scrambling to