A Republican judicial candidate who had requested a hand recount of all mail ballots cast in her race has hit a snag in the law that may derail that recount. The tallies in the County Civil Court-at-Law No. 2 race stand at 61,956 for incumbent Theresa Chang and 61,721 for challenger Donna Detamore, according to the Harris County Clerk. Detamore went to bed ahead, but woke up roughly 200 votes behind after County Clerk Stan Stanart said the Republican Party ballot board (charged with verifying the authenticity of mail ballots) delivered about 2,700 ballots after 10 p.m. on Election Day, leading to the late shift in the tally.
Stanart’s office had said it would cost Detamore about $1,790 to recount the mail ballots. That was before GOP officials checked the statute and discovered that partial recounts aren’t allowed. Republic Party chairman Jared Woodfill said if Detamore wants a recount, the law requires all precincts to get a second look, at an estimated cost of $40,000.
“It appears you have to count every single precinct, so it ends up being $100, at least, per precinct. We called (the Detamore campaign) to check with them and they haven’t gotten back with us yet. That’s just what the law is.” An employee at Detamore’s law office said she was in court and would return our call this afternoon.
Full Article: Recount in GOP judicial primary now up in the air | Houston Politics | a Chron.com blog.