When runoffs were not held in two rural Texas counties that had held primaries in May, the state’s election code was violated, according to the secretary of state’s office. The Republican and Democratic parties in Sterling County did not hold primary runoffs on Tuesday even though both hosted primaries in May. In Oldham County, the Republican Party had a primary but no runoff. By initially holding the primary, the parties were required to follow through and host runoffs, said Rich Parsons, a spokesman for the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s office became aware of the possible violation before the runoff and tried to address it, he said.
“As I understand it, attempts were made to contact party officials in both counties to advise them that they were required under the election code to hold runoffs,” Parsons said. Those attempts were unsuccessful, he said. Parsons said someone could contest an election if those counties’ votes could have impacted the outcome of a race. “If someone were to feel that a failure to hold a runoff election were grounds in an election contest, then they could certainly pursue that,” Parsons said.
Full Article: Counties That Held No Runoffs Violated Election Code — 2012 Elections | The Texas Tribune.
