By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The third-place candidate in a seven-person race for the Democratic Party nomination for the office of County Commissioner Precinct 1 has petitioned for a manual recount of the votes cast in the race.
Val Verde County Democratic Party Chair Rose Hernandez told the 830 Times on Thursday Sergio Diaz, one of seven men seeking the county commissioner nomination, had filed with her the “petition requesting a recount,” the first step towards a recount required by the Texas Election Code.
Hernandez said today no date for the recount has been set, and Diaz has given her a $200 check to cover expenses incurred by the requested recount.
When unofficial vote totals were announced in the county commissioner race on Election Day, they showed that Kerr Wardlaw had received the most votes in the race, but not enough to win the nomination outright. The vote totals announced on Election Day also showed that Enrique R. Treviño had received the second-highest vote total, with 125 votes, and Diaz had come in third with 124 votes.
But some votes remained outstanding and uncounted, so the early vote ballot board convened beginning on Tuesday, March 12, to finish the count. That count was completed on Thursday, and both the Democratic Party and Republican Party leaderships met to canvass the results and make them “official.”
Diaz attended the Val Verde County Commissioners Court meeting on Wednesday and spoke to the court during its “citizen comments” section, indicating to the court he would probably seek a formal recount.
“As a first-time candidate running for County Commissioner Pct. 1, Democratic Primary, I wanted to take the time to express my deep frustration regarding the handling of the recent voting and vote counting process,” Diaz told the court.
“Throughout the election, my campaign team and I have faced challenges in communication, from lack of information and responsiveness regarding parking during voting, to the status of the results, including those submitted through the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and much more. The frustration stemming from these issues also includes the difficulty we experienced in obtaining accurate answers whenever we sought information.
“Every vote is a vital expression of the democratic process, and the lack of timely results had raised questions about the integrity of the election. Given the circumstances, I strongly believe that a full manual recount is necessary, regardless of the ultimate outcome. I am requesting that this recount be conducted at the expense of the county. It is crucial to ensure transparency and fairness in our electoral system.
“There is a right way to conduct elections, and I firmly believe that our community’s voters deserve a thorough examination that only a full manual recount can provide. I appreciate your attention to this matter and trust that steps will be taken to address these concerns promptly,” Diaz finished.
On his official petition requesting the recount, Diaz indicated the following as “applicable grounds” for his request:
“Difference between number of votes received by petitioner (Diaz) and number of votes received by person who was elected or is entitled to a place on the runoff election ballot is less than 10 percent of the number of votes received by the person elected or entitled to a place on the runoff ballot; or
“Number of votes received by all candidates is less than 1,000; or
“Electronic system used in election. . .”
Diaz also wrote in his petition that he is requesting a manual recount of all the early votes, including mail-in and provisional ballots, and Election Day votes cast in Precinct 1, which includes voting precincts 10, 11, 12 and 13.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
