Burnt Orange Report

Heflin Asks for a Recount

By Byron LaMasters

This is what I expected. Republican State Rep. Talmadge Heflin, who lost Hubert Vo by 32 votes has asked for a recount:

State Rep. Talmadge Heflin has asked the state to order a manual recount of all ballots cast earlier this month in Heflin's unsuccessful bid for a 12th term in the Legislature.

Heflin's attorney, Andy Taylor, said that the Heflin campaign had uncovered "deeply disturbing evidence of voter fraud and election irregularities" and that the problems may have contributed to Heflin's 32-vote loss to businessman Hubert Vo earlier this month.

"Illegal votes were counted, and legal votes were rejected," Taylor said this afternoon.

Officials with Heflin's campaign filed a petition with the Texas Secretary of State's office today asking that the Harris County Clerk's Office hand-count the approximately 42,000 ballots cast in the race for state representative in House District 149 in southwest Harris County.

That recount could be complete by the first week of December, Taylor said.

Although Heflin and his supporters decided to seek the recount, Taylor said no decision has yet been made on whether to contest the election results in the state House of Representatives. Campaign officials have until the end of the day Thursday to decide that issue, he said.

Contesting the election in the state House would require that lawmakers either seat Vo or overturn the election and require a new vote. Although there have been several requests for election contests in the Texas House in recent years, most were withdrawn and none has reversed an election result.

Vo's narrow victory was the first Democratic gain in the House in 32 years and knocked off the veteran Heflin, who -- as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee -- was one of the state's most powerful Republican legislators.

Some in Austin had advised Heflin against challenging the election results, and his former colleagues have already moved to claim his third-floor Capitol office and his Appropriations Committee chair.

A recount is fine. But things could get pretty suspicious rather quickly. Here's what one person familiar with the situation said to me in an email:

Tom DeLay's favorite lawyer, Andy Taylor, today filed a formal request for a manual recount in the Vo-Heflin race and privately intimated to reporters that this recount is just the first step in a "complicated" process.

Taylor alleges that he has uncovered evidence of "minority voters" casting ballots illegally and even voting twice.

The only legal forum in which Andy can surface these allegations and present evidence to back them up is in a House challenge; the Texas election code specifically states that the House has "exclusive" jurisdictions over legislative election contests. So, Craddick appoints a committee to review
evidence, examine and cross-examine witnesses, and make a recommendation to the full House about whether to seat Vo or order a new election.

Is this an attempt by Heflin, who tried to intimidate a minority woman into giving up her own child in June, to use his power to intimidate a minority candidate into giving up his own election?

Will Tom DeLay's lawyer call a series of newly registered minority voters to the stand in a House contest and try to intimidate them, not to mention any other minority voters who may have the temerity in the future to consider exercising their voting rights? And not to mention force Vo to shoulder the financial cost of his defense?

There's more at Off the Kuff, Free State Standard and Greg's Opinion.