Hopson wins recount

Twenty-seven days after the General Election, it appears that state Rep. Chuck Hopson will keep his seat in the state legislature.

A vote recount requested by his opponent, Brian K. Walker (R-Tatum) was held Monday and Tuesday in the four counties comprising District 11. Rep. Hopson (D-Jacksonville) gained nine votes in the recount, excluding Cherokee County.

The vote recount in Cherokee County returned odd numbers that officials are at a loss to explain. Mr. Hopson lost 29 votes and Mr. Walker lost 121 votes.

And in a race that separated the two candidates by just 103 votes, the Cherokee County margin of error is significant.

Cherokee County Clerk Laverne Lusk, who was contacted at home at press deadline Tuesday, said that Mr. Walker lost 121 votes, and that Mr. Hopson lost 29.

"We are shocked that there were this many votes different," said Mrs. Lusk. "I don't know if this is from early voting or precinct voting. I won't know until we look at the reports from election night.

"Tomorrow, we will go over the numbers and see where it came from."

The recount in Cherokee County was overseen by a representative of the Secretary of State's office. Mrs. Lusk said the SOS representative agreed with the final number on the recount.

The recount process concluded after 5 p.m. Tuesday in Cherokee County was the only one which required two days. It is also the only county that returned results significantly different from the first count on election night.

Before the vote recount is official, it must be certified by county judges in Cherokee, Rusk, Houston and Panola counties and canvassed by Gov. Rick Perry.

The process could be concluded by the end of the week.

Following the Nov. 4 General Election, Rep. Hopson held a slim, 103-vote lead over Mr. Walker out of 52,847 votes cast.

Following the Cherokee County recount Tuesday night, Mr. Hopson spoke with the Cherokeean Herald.

"In the other three counties, I have a net gain of nine votes. The Cherokee County votes are not yet official, and I can't comment on that.

"(In the other counties), we've counted the votes. We've recounted the votes, and I'm still the winner."

Recount summary

Mr. Walker carried Panola and Rusk counties during the General Election. In the Monday recount in Panola County, Mr. Walker's vote tally remained unchanged. Rep. Hopson's total was one ballot less than the machine count had originally indicated.

"Susan Potts, an attorney for Brian K. Walker, requested copies of the provisional ballot envelopes, rejected mail-out ballot envelopes, applications and rejection letters and 72 ballots that she had questions about," said Cheyenne Lampley, election administrator in Panola County. "In the majority of those ballots that were requested, the voter had voted a straight party but then voted in a different party in the district 11 race. All 72 ballots were counted and included in the recount."

In the Rusk County recount which concluded at approximately 4 p.m. Monday, Mr. Walker lost 14 votes during the recount. The vote discrepancy in that recount stems from "limited ballots." Kathy Wittner, election coordinator, explained that those ballots are designed to allow a voter who moves to a new county to vote during early on races that include only federal and statewide elections.

Ms. Wittner explained that state law does not require limited ballots to be counted by hand. If the paper ballots are scanned and if the voter marks local races, they are counted like regular ballots. Only a recount by hand can reveal this type of discrepancy.

The Houston County recount concluded at approximately 7 p.m. Monday. County Clerk Bridget Lamb said that in the recount, Mr. Walker gained four votes, Rep. Hopson had no change and the Libertarian candidate, Paul Bryan, lost two votes.

She said she does not know where the discrepancies occurred or whether the difference involved limited ballots.

Ms. Lamb said the election process went smoothly, and she commended representatives from both parties for their courtesy and helpfulness.

Houston County commissioners will meet Dec. 9 to canvass the votes.

After the recount

Whether or not Mr. Walker plans to concede the election was not clear at press deadline Tuesday. The Walker campaign could not be reached for a comment.

The official spokesman of the recount, Cory Kennedy of Ryan Erwin and Associates, was unavailable. Campaign manager Zach Vaughn said he did not have recount numbers, and that he had been working on other things. Mr Walker did not return a phone call.

The only legal recourse is to contest the election with the Secretary of State's office.

According to state statute, the House of Representatives would convene and conduct a tribunal hearing. The code states, "The house of representatives has exclusive jurisdiction of a contest of a general or special election for state representative."

The scope of the inquiry is to attempt to ascertain whether the outcome of the contested election, as shown by the final canvass, is not correct because either illegal votes were counted or because an election officer or other person involved in the administration of the election made an error.

Examples cited in the statute include failing to count legal votes, preventing eligible voters from voting or engaging in other fraud or illegal conduct.

A possible legal point of contention by the Walker campaign is uncounted provisional ballots. (See sidebar on who is eligible to cast a provisional ballot.)

In each case, the election judge reviewed the provisional ballots and provided the voter with written notice within 10 days of the local canvass as to whether their ballots were counted or not.

Statewide implications

Political observers say that the race in East Texas will have significant implications in the balance of power in Austin. Currently, Republicans hold 77 seats in the house of representatives, Democrats have 74 seats.

Current Speaker of the House Tom Craddick is engaged in a battle for his political future as speaker.

During the last session of the Legislature in 2007, he successfully sidestepped maneuvers by members of his own party to unseat him near the end of the session.

The list of declared opponents who plan to run for speaker grows longer as the Jan. 13, 2009 session draws nearer. A similar tight race is being watch in Irving.

Provisional ballots

Individuals who claim to be registered but whose names do not appear on the voter registration list or voters who are unable to produce their certificate or another form of required identification at the polling place are required to vote provisionally. Provisional ballots are not counted until the voter registrar and early voting ballot board verify the voter's eligibility. The affidavit which provisional voters must sign also acts as a voter registration application, ensuring that individuals, who are not on the list of registered voters, are registered for future elections.

The following is a partial list of examples of people allowed to vote provisionally:

• An individual who claims to be properly registered and eligible to vote, but whose name does not appear on the list of registered voters and voter registrar cannot be reached or whose registration status cannot be confirmed by the voter registrar; or

• An individual who is registered to vote, but is trying to vote in a precinct other than the precinct where the voter is registered (on election day); or

• An individual who does not have his/her voter registration certificate and no form of identification; or

• An individual who has applied for a ballot by mail but has not returned the ballot or cancelled the ballot by mail with the early voting clerk; or

DATA: SECRETARY OF STATE

GRAPHIC: CHEROKEEAN HERALD