A Republican judicial candidate who had sought a hand recount of all mail ballots cast in her race has dropped her request, in part because of the cost of pursuing the recount. Challenger Donna Detamore thought she had beaten County Civil Court-at-Law No. 2 incumbent Theresa Chang at the end of primary election day but found herself 226 votes behind the next morning. County Clerk Stan Stanart blamed the late delivery of about 2,700 mail ballots for the post-midnight shift in the tally. Detamore said she planned to pursue a hand-recount of those paper ballots, but GOP and county officials learned that state law does not allow a partial recount in the race.
Instead of an estimated $2,000 for the limited recount, the Detamore campaign faced a deposit of at least $39,400, and perhaps as much as $106,500, depending on how local officials interpreted the law. Detamore called either amount “astronomical.” She would have forfeited the deposit if the recount had ended with Chang still ahead.
In an email Friday morning, Detamore ended the intrigue. “While I enjoyed my 2 hours and 37 minutes as the party’s nominee,” she wrote, “we need to get on with the general election and I extend my congratulations to Theresa Chang as the Republican Party’s nominee in the general election.”
Full Article: Election recount shelved because of cost – Houston Chronicle.
