Burnt Orange Report

Details on the Rodriguez Recount Lawsuit

By Byron LaMasters

The San Antonio Express-News has the story:

U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez is expected to try to beef up his legal case against Democratic nominee Henry Cuellar today, introducing an amended lawsuit that alleges more than 500 people who voted in the primary here are registered at vacant addresses or at homes where they do not live.

Rodriguez, a seven-year incumbent in Congress, sued Cuellar two weeks ago after losing his re-election bid in a recount following the March 9 primary.

The San Antonio Express-News visited some of the residences in question Monday based on information provided by Rodriguez's attorney, Buck Wood.

In one case, a primary voter with the same name as Cuellar's campaign manager, Colin Strother, is registered as living with Cuellar's parents in central Laredo.

The Cuellars, in an interview with a reporter Monday, said no one named Strother lives there.

Told of the allegation, Cuellar spokesman T.J. Connolly said that when Strother agreed to work on Cuellar's campaign, he was given a salary and the option to live in a rental property at Cuellar's parents' home.

Strother reportedly registered and voted at that address, although he has been living with his wife in another location outside of District 28 as part of her employment compensation. The two have been planning to relocate to the Cuellar residence, but furor over the campaign has kept them from doing so, Connolly said.

"He knew that's where he'd be residing long term," he said.

Strother did not return a phone call Monday.

Two other homes listed in the lawsuit — one littered with trash and with the front door standing off its hinges and another with a posted city application for remodeling — appeared vacant when visited by a reporter. Records show 11 people living and voting at those addresses.

At a fourth address, a resident said he did not know six people who were registered there and voted in the primary.

Texas voter eligibility requirements mandate that a person be a resident of their county at least 30 days before the election.

Rodriguez is pulling out all the stops, but it's probably too little, too late. Rodriguez didn't take Cuellar's campaign seriously until the end, and he made it close enough for the result to be in doubt. Still, there's some important questions that need to be answered and hopefully Rodriguez's lawsuit will help settle that.