Mike May seeks to overturn Texas House loss to state Rep. Jon Rosenthal

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A dropping Republican candidate for the Texas House of Representatives is difficult his defeat and asking the Legislature to void the outcomes of the election.

Republican Mike May this week filed what’s often called an election contest with the Texas secretary of state’s workplace, citing studies of scattered paper poll shortages at “numerous” polling locations on Election Day. May misplaced to incumbent Democrat Jon Rosenthal by greater than 6,000 votes in his bid to symbolize House District 135 within the Houston space.

The secretary of state’s workplace on Tuesday delivered May’s petition to House Speaker Dade Phelan, who can refer the competition to a committee for investigation and appoint one other member of the House as a “master” to oversee discovery and proof associated to the contested election. If they aspect with May and void the outcomes, one other election could be required to resolve the district’s consultant. The House may toss the competition by declaring it “frivolous.”

Election Day points as soon as once more pushed Harris County’s election officers again below scrutiny, together with from the state’s Republican management. Voting in Harris County was prolonged by courtroom order for an additional hour after a couple of dozen polling locations have been delayed in opening. The county’s elections administrator Clifford Tatum has additionally acknowledged points with inadequate paper ballots at some polling locations, although he stated election employees was dispatched to ship extra ballots.

The fumbles prompted a lawsuit by the Harris County GOP, which alleged voters have been disenfranchised by the paper shortages. The Harris County district lawyer has since launched an investigation into allegations of “irregularities.” The Texas Election Code contains prison penalties for numerous violations, together with unlawful voting, the unsolicited distribution of mail-in poll functions by native election officers and the failure to distribute election provides.

In his petition, May argued the outcomes of the election weren’t the “true outcome” as a result of election officers “prevented eligible voters from voting.” May didn’t instantly return a request for remark.

On Friday, Rosenthal’s camp framed May’s election contest as a part of a nationwide pattern to “deny the outcome of an election when you lose.”

“This race demonstrated one of the largest percentage point differences in Harris County, it wasn’t even close,” Rosenthal’s marketing campaign supervisor, Bailey Stober, stated in an announcement. “The opposition presented himself and his positions and was rejected by voters overwhelmingly. That is how democracy works.”

The assertion got here quickly after Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee criticized the competition as an effort to “call into question the 2022 election in Harris County and lay the groundwork to force a redo.”

It’s unclear how Phelan will deal with the competition. But Menefee stated he was hopeful that Phelan would throw out the problem.

“And I trust that he will ensure a fair process before impartial legislators, without interference from the state leaders and other elected officials who have a history of making baseless claims against Harris County elections,” Menefee stated.

The House took on an analogous train in 2011 following a problem by Travis County Republican Dan Neil, who, after a recount, misplaced to state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, by 12 votes. The House eventually upheld Howard’s win. She stays within the Texas Legislature.

Up until then, the Legislature had seen 113 election contests since 1846, in accordance to the Texas Legislative Council, an in-house authorized and analysis arm of the Texas Legislature. The dropping occasion, nevertheless, had not managed to flip the end result of the election not less than within the final 30 years. In the one case during which the House ordered a brand new election in 1981, the winner of the preliminary contest was once more elected.

Harris County, the state’s largest, has lately been floor zero for partisan battles over election administration. Since dropping management of the county, Republicans have often challenged new voting initiatives just like the creation of countywide voting that enables voters to forged ballots at any polling place on Election Day in addition to the county’s creation of an elections directors workplace.

The county additionally drew the ire of state Republicans who, in sweeping laws handed in 2021, banned initiatives it championed within the first main election throughout the pandemic — 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting. The county stated these voting strategies have been disproportionately utilized by voters of shade.

Harris County will already be the topic of a full post-election audit by the state. The secretary of state’s workplace beforehand chosen the county for assessment as a part of a brand new audit course of put in place by the Republican laws.

Disclosure: Texas Secretary of State has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Find a whole list of them here.