Nueces County finds 7 ballots, all for Ortiz

Nueces County election officials discovered a bag of seven uncounted ballots Thursday afternoon, throwing a new twist into the already tight race for Texas’ 27th Congressional District.

Once counted, Republican challenger Blake Farenthold’s lead narrowed as all seven ballots went to incumbent U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, leaving the long-time congressman trailing by 792 votes.

The new district-wide count is Farenthold 50,954 to Ortiz’s 50,162.

Ortiz spokesman Jose Borjon said he had spoken to Nueces County elections officials Thursday. They explained the bag contained emergency ballots cast when a Robstown voting precinct lost power Tuesday night.

“We still don’t know exactly why these were not counted on Election Day … It’s obvious that there are a number of irregularities and this is just one of many,” Borjon said.

On Thursday, An election official remembered the bag that had been put in a vault at the Nueces County Courthouse, Nueces County Clerk Diana T. Barrera said.

“It was an oversight,” Barrera added, noting that amid reports of a possible recount, the election official remembered the bag. “Realization set in,” Barrera said. She recalled thinking, “Let’s take care of it now,” and notified the chairs from the Nueces County Democratic and Republican parties.

Farenthold – apparently unaware of the forgotten votes until contacted by The Brownsville Herald – said later that Nueces County officials had followed procedures and that a poll watcher from the Republican Party was at the courthouse for the scheduled 4 p.m. counting process.

“It is important that we protect the integrity of the system,” Farenthold said.

Ortiz, who has held the congressional seat since the 27th District of Texas was created in 1982, would not concede the race Wednesday and sent out a statement saying his legal team would look into a number of “discrepancies” in Tuesday’s results, hinting at a possible recount. In his statement, Ortiz said one polling site opened almost an hour late while another lost power, “depriving many from casting their vote.”

In reaction to the discovery of uncounted ballots on Thursday, Ortiz’s campaign released a statement again alluding to a possible recount, saying in part, “Until the votes are counted and, if appropriate, recounted to ensure accuracy, there remains no winner in this race.”