April 11, 2006
Ballot screwup in Maverick County

Vince and BOR are the first to report this: The Democratic primary runoff ballot in Maverick County, where Eagle Pass is, did not contain Barbara Radnofsky's name on it. Instead, it had the names of the other two candidates, Gene Kelly and Darrell Reece Hunter. This was true throughout early voting, and was only reported and rectified today around noon when officials in Maverick County acted on some complaints about the ballot by calling the Secretary of State's office.

I've spoken to Seth with Radnofsky's campain, to a nice lady named Elizabeth in the SOS office, and to Dan with the Texas Democratic Party about this. Here's what I know:

- Once the error was confirmed, "emergency ballot procedures" were initiated. That means that the electronic voting machines, which had been configured with the incorrect names, were replaced by paper ballots in Maverick County. According to the Quorum Report, those paper ballots will be counted by hand.

- All votes for Gene Kelly in Maverick will count. Any votes for Darrell Reece Hunter will be disqualified. Whatever happens in Maverick is official, barring an election contest (more on that later). There is no legal option to omit any results from Maverick.

- It's unclear at this time whose fault this is. Elizabeth says that the county party is responsible for the contents of the ballot. She says that they said the correct names were sent to the electronic voting machine's manufacturer (I did not ask who that was). How it went wrong from there is an open question.

- Also an open question is why it took so long for anyone to notice and/or do something about it. The impression I got from Elizabeth is that there were some complaints in Maverick County, but the SOS office was not contacted by Maverick officials until today. That will have to be sorted out.

- The key question is what happens if Kelly wins by a margin smaller than his margin of victory in Maverick County. According to both Elizabeth and Dan, Radnofsky's recourse would be to file an election contest, which would be a lawsuit in district court (not sure where; my guess would be Austin, but I Am Not A Lawyer). Nobody was willing to go on the record as to what a judge might do with that, but one scenario that Elizabeth and I discussed that sounds sensible to me is that the judge could order a repeat of the election in Maverick County only. She was not aware of a case like this before where a similar ballot omission was alleged to have made a difference in an election.

- Elizabeth told me there was a similar problem in the GOP primary this March in the Court of Criminal Appeals primary, where Charles Holcomb was left off the ballot in at least one county. I think she said Burnet County, but I can't find a source for that. Since Holcomb made the runoff with Terry Keel, it was basically no harm, no foul.

That's what I've got. If you know more, or can fill in the blanks on the potential election contest, please leave a comment.

UPDATE: Vince has some more info.

UPDATE: Vince is now concerned that Maverick may not be an isolated incident. Any comments from non-Harris and Travis voters?
Posted by Charles Kuffner on April 11, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack
Comments

I pointed out in 1988 that voters in Hidalgo County got to vote for Dukakis/Bentsen twice (two boxes for that ticket) but just once for Bush/Quayle.

After the press conference, Billy Leo (now my friend) called me a "little white-boy racist."
Posted by: jim on April 11, 2006 6:56 PM

About 10,000 registered voters in Hidalgo County not assigned to precincts
Andres R. Martinez
April 29, 2007 - 2:05PM


EDINBURG — The names of about 10,000 registered voters in Hidalgo County will not appear on voter rolls at their precincts on Election Day, a problem in counties across the state.

However, the voters should have no problem casting their ballots, Hidalgo County Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro told the County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.

Election judges at each precinct will be able to call election headquarters if a voter’s name does not show up to confirm the voter is at the correct precinct. The name and address voters have on their driver’s license or voter registration card will be matched to the ones in a database the county maintains.

Under old voting laws, each county in Texas kept its own voter registration records. The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 shifted the responsibility from counties to the state.
The new software the state is using doesn’t easily recognize the addresses that many voters gave when registering, effectively not assigning them a precinct.

For example, if a voter registered under the address 1400 E. Nolana and the state officially recognizes it as 1400 East Nolana, the new software system doesn’t automatically assign a precinct. In other words, there is little room for discrepancy.

If the precinct judge cannot match the person’s address on Election Day, the voter will be offered a provisional ballot.

Early voting in the latest political races is set to begin Monday. Election Day is May 12.

EDINBURG

AG's Office Investigating 2004 Hidalgo County Election


March 17, 2006, 12:34 PM

Reported by Ray Pedraza

The Texas Attorney General's Office is investigating 12 Texas counties, including Hidalgo, over allegations of fraud in a recent democratic primary.

Could politiqueras have changed the outcome of a big race?

On Thursday, there was a swarm of activity at the Hidalgo County elections department as workers sorted through three thousand mail-in ballots from the 2004 democratic primary.

Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro says Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot has requested the ballots because of allegations of fraud.

"Basically what we're doing to help the Attorney General's Office is we're collecting all of the mail-in ballot information, and making them copies since the originals cannot be released. And we're going to ship them to the attorney general's office for their review," explained Navarro.

The request to her office came through an official document obtained by Action 4 News.

According to the memo, the AG's office received "allegations of improprieties with an unknown number of absentee mail-in ballots in that election".

And Navarro says the same request is being made from 11 other Texas counties.

"So that could only lead you to believe that it's probably not a local race, it's probably a federal race that they are looking at," said Navarro.

So, what candidate is making a fuss? Navarro says she can't release that but she can tell us what will happen if there is evidence to support the allegations.

"They will be able to conduct the investigation to determine if they're able to find any one person who did tamper with the mail-in ballot that belonged to another voter. And as a result of that, you could see indictments."

Navarro says Abbot has been very aggressive in pursuing complaints about politiqueras and mail-in ballots. She says this is just more proof of that.

As Hidalgo County entered the twentieth century, irrigation was becoming a way of life. Brushland was cleared and converted into farmland. Townsites were laid out. In 1907, the citrus industry began when a Captain Fitch set out the first grapefruit orchard in Mercedes. The same year Charles Volz of Mission planted a grove. Cotton and vegetables were added to the produce of the Magic Valley. By 1904, the land boom was on. Land that had sold for twenty- five cents to one dollar per acre befor'e the railroads came had risen in 1906 to ten to fifty dollars. By 1910, the same land was bringing $100 to $300 per acre. The land companies were in full pursuit of the "Snow- digger's."(l) Names associated to early Hidalgo developnent were those of people who were buying up tracts of land for improvement and resale. They included Jim McAllen, John Closner, John Conway, James Hoit, W. E. Stewart, C. H. Swallow, Dave Kirgan, A. J. McCall, Willard Ferguson, N. Pharr and others. John Shary was the number one colonizer from 1910 to 1920 and was responsible for the settling of over 50,000 acres of Valley land, predominantly in Hidalgo County. Soon Lloyd and Elmer Bentsen began to bring in those from northern states to the county. Trains were arriving in the Valley every two weeks from all over the country. The land companies made all the arrangements. 32. Books and pamphlets making extravagant claims about the fertile lands were printed along with sheets of songs extolling the pleasures of life in the Magic Valley. As the trains rolled toward the 'Rio Grande, the exuberant prospective buyers clapped their hands as they sang along to favorite tunes of their high expectations of a bright, new future in the Valley. The out of state buyers were met at the train by salesmen with a caravan of automobiles. The salesmen kept their group together and isolated them from those representing other land companies very much as the "Blue" and "Red" political parties did with their prospective voters and for the same reason. Wives were encouraged to accompany their husbands so the sales could be closed in the holiday atmosphere as the buyers partied, played cards and met new people. One of the famous "snowdiggers" who was attracted to Hidalgo County in 1909 was William Jennings Bryan. He was brought to the Valley by John Conway. Bryan decided to buy forty acres in the Mission area, but when it was learned that the "Great Commoner" was in the Valley to buy property, he was so besieged by promoters that he retreated across the river to Mexico, where he stayed until he completed his deal. He became very interested in local affairs, and when he returned to the Valley, he always participated in speaking" and events there. Many newcomers were now entering Hidalgo County whose names would be remembered through the twenties, thirties and into the 33. forties and fifties, as they sought to improve by their efforts not only the economics of the county, but also to promote the democratic spirit in county government. Apparently, the only records kept about the thousands of people who worked for this goal were the newspaper accounts, and while some names appeared in these stories, most were lost to history. Fortunately, the results of their dedication were not. The town of Weslaco, organized in 1919, was home to many of those who were most vocal in expressing their displeasure with Hidalgo County government officials who, they claimed, were squandering taxpayers' money to promote the welfare of themselves and their friends rather than that of the rest of the citizens. Perhaps Weslaco was such a seed bed of anger because until 1929 it operated as a general law city which meant that it had no charter and its city officials had to work through the county in its dealings with the state. Two of the newcomers' strongest voices were from Weslaco, E. C. "Ed" Couch and D. E. "Dave" Kirgan. Ed Couch was born January 8, 1879. He and Allie Couch and their five children moved from Knox City, Texas, where Couch had been president of the bank, to Hidalgo County. He and his brother-in-law started the Weslaco Townsite Company. They bought land, divided it into lots to sell. Couch was considered to be the primary founder of Weslaco. In 1926, he with another developer, laid out the townsite of Edcouch, ten miles north of Weslaco. This site was soon named for him. 34. Couch was president of the first bank in Weslaco and participated in other enterprises in the early history of the town. Dave Kirgan was born October, 1877, and came to the Valley in 1919 or 1920 with the W. E. Stewart Land Company. He and R. C. Waters founded the Gulf Coast Security Land Company and brought in land parties of prospective buyers. Later, these two men both participated in the revolt of the townspeople against the county government. Kirgan was also associated with Virgle C. Thompson in land developing. Kirgan, a big, burly man who always had a cigar in his mouth, was elected mayor of Weslaco in the spring of 1927 and served for four years. He promised to complete the work necessary for obtaining a Home Charter for his town. After his election, "he kept this promise along with others calling for a city audit of its financial condition. He secured $160,000 bond issue for streets, water and sewer, and built a fine city hall. When the building was opened and dedicated on October 16,1928, the addresses were made by Ed Couch and Dave Kirgan. As the roads were paved during Kirgan's tenure, the Weslaco citizens, highly suspicious of the county officials, refused to let Sheriff A. Y. Baker control the letting of the contracts as he had in the past. To be doubly sure there was no interference with their roads by the county, the Weslaco citizens stood guard with snotguns during the paving to be sure it was done to their specifications. When the city hall was awarded a Texas Historical Marker in 1978, some of those streets were still in use.(2) 35. Another town that was heavily involved in the reform movement was McAllen with its mayor, Frank Freeland, as an outspoken critic of Hidalgo County government. Freeland was born May 19, 1880, in Hillsborough, Illinois. He finished his schooling in 1897 and worked with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He received a coal mining engineer certificate and worked at that profession for ten years. In 1917, he moved to the Valley and bought a farm near McAllen. He was very active in community affairs, serving as mayor! from 1923 until 1929, and he served for many years on the hospital board. Gordon Griffin was born in Lauderdale County in West Tennessee on December 25, 1888. His father, John Griffin, was from Griffin, Georgia, and as a very young man he joined the Confederate Army and fought under General John B. Gordon. His youngest son was named for the general. After the war, John never returned to Georgia. Instead, he settled in Tennessee, where he married Edmonia Eloise Bently. John Griffin died when his son, Gordon, was one year old, leaving his wife to rear eight children alone on a small Tennessee farm. Gordon Griffin attended Laneview College in Trenton, Tennessee. Then he earned a degree in 1915 from Cumberland University Law School in Lebanon, Tennessee. He began the of law in Ridgely, Tennessee, where he opened the office. At the age of twenty-two, he was elected the third mayor of the town and served in that capacity in 1911 and 1912. For several years, he had a law office in Tiptonville, Tennessee, and 36. later in Memphis. He married Mary S. Prichard from Halls. Gordon Griffin was exactly what the land developers in the Rio Grande Valley were looking for. He was young, energetic, loved hard work, and was always looking for greener, more exciting fields. The idea of helping to transform avast mesquite-covered wilderness into a garden spot held great appeal for him. A large picture entitled "The Valley Sales Organization Excursion Party in the Rio Grande Valley," dated July 28, 1920, in McAllen showed Griffin and sixty-six other eager prospective buyers who had been brought to Hidalgo County by the Bentsen brothers. Griffin brought his wife and baby daughter from Memphis, passed the Texas bar exam in 1920, and began a twenty-two year law career in McAllen. A portion of those years were spent in fighting what he considered corrupt boss politics, centering on Archie Parr in Duval County and encompassing all of south Texas. 37. CHAPTER SIX By the mid-1920's, hundreds of the Hidalgo County residents were beginning to wonder about privately, and later to question publicly, the fate of county funds. They also wondered why no one outside the "Baker Ring" could be elected to public office. The officeholders of the county had been a closed corporation since 1890. The voices were becoming so loud that they attracted the attention of a national magazine. Owen P. White in "High Handed and Hell Bent," Collier's, (June 22, 1929), pp. 8, 9, 47, explained some of the causes of such outspoken discontent. One cause was roads. One road in particular was referred to as the "Nickel Plated Highway to Hell." It stretched less than eight miles from McAllen to Hidalgo over perfectly flat, level land and was built at a cost to the taxpayers of $1 million, or over $100,000 per mile. (This was in the early 1920's.) It ended at a sixty-cent toll bridge, an exclusive franchise owned mostly by A. Y. Baker, which came to a full stop at a saloon and dance hall owned by one of Hidalgo County's public officials. Many other problems with roads surfaced, the cost padded, the bonds sold to "friends" of the county officials at six percent less than was offered by other local bankers and businessmen, and the funds deposited in "friendly" banks, selected by the same county officials. 38. Another complaint was schools. One huge red structure called the Tabasco School was located out in the middle of mesquite bushes, miles outside of the irrigated area with less than five dwellings in sight in any direction. Its total enrollment was 129 students, and it had cost the taxpayer's $400,000. It had equipment of every type still uncrated after three years of occupancy, all bought from "friendly" firms, of course. Edinburg, a town of about 6,000 in 1929, had a school that cost the taxpayer's $3,000,000. The bonded indebtedness of the Edinbur'g school district was $1,250,000, the actual value of the school properties. The officials, however, called. another bond issue valued at $1,700,000 on the same property. A notice of the bond election was posted on a couple or mesquite trees out in the brush and one on the back door of the courthouse, wher'e it would not show when the door was open. Ther'e were 500 votes cast, and the election carried, however, the next day 800 taxpayers signed a statement asserting that they had known nothing about the election. Only those with boss prepaid poll taxes apparently knew of it. R. P. Ward, an administrator employed by the combined high school and junior college, designed in protest in July, 1928, when he learned of the new bond issue of $1,700,000. According to Ward. there was no way the school system of Edinburg could support a $3,000,000 school. He stated in his resigntion that he had learned of the bond issue only in the afternoon of the day of the election, but that the rest of the faculty did not know of it until the next day. 39. There was the problem of warrants. These were interest bearing certificates of indebtedness against Hidalgo County issued by the county commissioners without the knowledge of the taxpayers, supposedly for the improvement of certain streams and rivers in the county. But no improvements were in evidence. The indebtedness of the county continued to increase, but the citizens had no knowledge of how the money was being used. Protests began. The clamor of the voters grew louder, and now an aroused citizenry planned bold new steps. Thousands of angry residents organized into a reform organization, but there seemed to be no way this group could operate within the Democratic Party. B. D. Kimbrough, law partner of Gordon Griffin and a man with a keen legal mind, explained in McAllen to a congressional committee investigating the election frauds the fmpossibility of getting on the ballot as Democratic candidates. Mr. Kimbrough stated to the congressmen that the Hidalgo County political machine or "ring" had been built around A. Y. Baker, the present sheriff, who had come to the county some thirty years before. He had been a Texas Ranger, a good officer, a fearless officer, but had instilled in the minds and hearts of uneducated farmworkers of the county an abject fear. From that beginning, the real power of his machinery was in the control he had over the illiterate voters, both alien and citizen. This block vote was used to influence bond elections as well as the election 40. of public officials. Since the county officials controlled all the primary election machinery, there was no way to break this power within the Democratic party.(l) Most of those in the reform movement had been lifelong Democrats, but now they turned to the Republican Party. They did not go into the Democratic Party primary elections or conventions. They wanted to increase democracy rather than restrict it. They believed strongly in the two party system and would not go into the Democratic primary to attempt to nominate one set of candidates, and then vote for the opposing party's candidates in the general election. The purpose of this grass roots movement, calling itself the Citizens Republican Organization, was to remove from office those who had dominated Hidalgo County politics through a large part of its history. This was to be a Herculean effort. When the Republican Convention met in the county courthouse in Edinburg on August 4, 1928, approximately 100 people attended. In those days, the Republican Party did not have enough votes for a primary election, so they selected all of their candidates at conventions. Also, this was before the primary elections and conventions had been moved up to May and June. The group met, held an enthusiastic convention, nominated a full slate of candidates, as well as delegates, to the state convention. They were no~ greatly disturbed when five delegates, two of whom had voted. that same day in a Democratic primary, a 41. violation of the law, bolted and held a rump convention in another part of the courthouse. These five were presided over by Harry Carrol of Donna. They nominated no candidates to the state convention. The original group that had selected a whole slate of "candidates, was presided over by Willard Ferguson of Mission. Delegates from both groups went to the Republican State Convention in Fort Worth on August 1, 1928. The convention recognized the Carrol delegation. While the Citizens Republican members were disappointed over this procedure, they were not too perturbed because it did not occur to them at that time that the Republican Party would really prefer a delegation that had held a rump convention of five and had chosen no candidates over a hundred people who had a slate of candidates and were "prepared to go forth to do battle for them. That, however was before the reform group understood how boss politics really worked in one party states like Texas. The Republican Party really did not want a slate of candidates opposing the Democrats surrounding A. Y. Baker. Again, the explanation was described by William a. Shepherd, "A Job for Jack," Collier's., (June 15, 1929), pp. 8, 9, 56, 57. Shepherd's material came from a Senate Investigating Committee under the auspices of both Democrats and Republicans and was headed by Senator Smith Brookhart of Iowa. The facts brought to light were startling. Even though in one party states, the opposing party was often poorly organized and struggling to survive, its votes to Presidential Conventions were 42. just as valuable as those in which the party was in the majority. The number of these delegates was based on the population of the states, not on the number of Republicans in it. Every four years, backers of various presidential hopefuls dickered in financial terms with these delegates just as ardently as with those in the. states they hoped to carry in November. After all, the delegates chose the party's nominee, not the voters. There had always been the accepted rules that were observed by both political parties on the question of patronage. Thus, when there was a Democratic President in the White House, the Democratic congressmen were allowed to send to the various cabinet members the names of individuals from their state or district whom they wished to have appointed for such jobs as federal judge, federal attorneys, United States marshalls, custom officials, postmasters, and hundreds of other officeholders. The stronger the support of the Democratic member of Congress for the administration, the better chance that his recommended candidate had of becoming an officeholder. The Republicans followed the same procedure. But in southern one party states, there were no Republican members of Congress; therefore, in a Republican administration there were no elected officials to receive the plu~s of political patronage. In these states, including Texas, the few Republicans in the state named one of their most influential members as "referee." This referee had as much power in the Republican administration as any Republican congressman, and had millions of dollars worth of 43. political jobs to hand out to the faithful. According to William Shepherd, Being a political referee is about as sweet a political job as there is in politics Do you think a Republican referee, in any Democratic state, goes into a wild, desperate fight at election time to have Republican congressmen elected from his state? He does not. For this reason, Mr. R. B. Creager of Brownsville in Cameron County entered into the history of the adjoining county of Hidalgo. It was alleged by many Hidalgo County voters that Mr. Creager did not want any Republican candidates on the ballot in Hidalgo County opposing the perennial Democrats. He had controlled the Republican Party in Texas since 1921, and he wanted the state to remain solidly Democratic, so his power would not be diminished by having to share it with other Republican officeholders. There were also several huge books listing the pledges of over 1,000 citizens in Texas who had promised certain sums to Creager's Republican Organization for the privilege of being appointed to a federal office. The reformers, without realizing it, had taken on not only the Democratic entrenched establishment, but the Republican one as well.

In July 1928, Carl and Ruth Armstrong became publishers and editors of a new newspaper, the Hidalgo County Independent, printed in Edinburg, Texas. This paper, though it changed ownership about a year later, remained staunchly committed to the reform movement. It was established as an answer to the Edinburg Valley Review, which took a strong pro-administration stance. On the front page of the September 19, 1928 edition, Ruth Armstrong dramatically attacked the county government officials by stating: Hidalgo County has suffered the pangs of political perdition from those scions of public life who have insisted on getting easy money. If you and your neighbor shall properly insist upon it, there shall be no more easy money for anyone who sits comfortably ensconced at the courthouse with nothing to do but write out a few warrants when he wishes to build a house, buy a car, or take a trip to Europe. On September 23, 1928, the McAllen Daily Press, which supported the administration but was fair in its news coverage, wrote the story of the first meeting of the Citizens Republican Organization. Declaring that most of the county offices have been "vacant" since the last election, Gordon Griffin, McAllen attorney, fired the opening gun of the campaign of the Citizens Republican ticket against the present county administration at a mass meeting attended by approximately 1,000 persons who jammed the auditorium of the McAllen High School and almost filled the corridors of the building in their eagerness to hear the speaker. 45. The meeting was called to order by Cecil R. Fulton, young McAllen lawyer, who introduced W. C. Baker, cashier of the Security State Bank of Weslaco, as chairman of the assembly. In a short address before introducing the candidates running on the ticket, Mr. Baker attributed the presence of such a large number of persons to the "sentiment of an aroused public." He said, "The govern- ment of Hidalgo County has become destructive to the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of the citizens, and it is our duty to amend this government and to substitute the above order." The newspaper continued by listing the candidates for office on the Citizens Republican ticket who were introduced to the crowd. They were: E. C.' Couch, Weslaco, County Judge; Ernest M. Smith, Edinburg, Legislator; F. W. Lemburg, McAllen, County Clerk; Robert Henderson, Commissioner of Precinct Two; Dr. D. R. Handley, Sheriff; Mrs. Fred Wright, Mercedes, County School Superintendent; and Harburd Tarpley, Weslaco, Tax Collector. Great applause greeted each of the candidates as they acknowledged the introduction. Dave Kirgan, Mayor of Weslaco, and an eloquent speaker, delivered a short address in which he characterized a "protest against invisible government." He stated that the Citizens Republican group pledged its determination to have a certified public audit of the county's records. As the meeting came to a close, enthusiasm rose higher and higher when the call was made for contribu- tions, money was subscribed rapidly, approximately $1,000 being pledged within a short length of time. The entire program was frequently interrupted by cheering, stamping of feet, yells, and outbursts of applause for the ticket that was presented and derision of the present administration. Gales of laughter swept' over the large crowd time after time as the speakers referred to their oPPQnents, but at no time did the hundreds of listeners become disorderly. 46. The Citizens Republicans had tried to get a good cross section of the county for its candidates. Ed Couch of Weslaco was a banker and a developer. F. W. Lemburg, born in Mason County, Texas, had been with a bank there for twenty-one years. He had moved to McAllen to be vice-president of its bank and was active in the town's Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Fred Wright had moved to the Valley in 1913. She had a degree from Lombard University in Galesbury, Illinois, and had done post graduate work in both Chicago University and Columbia. She had been superintendent of schools in Mercedes from 1915-1925, and was active in civic and club work. Harburd Tarpley had been a teacher in Arlington before moving to Weslaco, where he had been both a teacher and school superintendent. In 1928, he was in real estate and President of the Weslaco Chamber of Commerce. Dr. D. R. Handley was a pharmacist, doctor, and owned an orchard. Ernest M. Smith was a native Texan, a graduate of the University of Texas Law School in 1914, and a practicing lawyer in Edinburg. The reformers did not nominate a candidate for district clerk to run against Charles Fortson. Fortson of Mission broke with the administration and denounced its policies and attitudes. Griffin ...so ably and fearlessly set forth his arguments ...that his mere appearance on the platform now is the signal for round after round of deafening applause ... Griffin kept reminding the audience of the handling of the bond issues and the cost of the "Nickel Plated Highway to Hell." 47. Two or thre meetinga a week were held throughout Hidalgo County at Mercedes, Donna, Edcouch, and at each meeting the speakers, who always included Kirgan, Freeland, Couch, and Griffin, plus other aroused citizens, continued to discuss the county's . administration. There was the constant complaint that the county officials were never in the courthouse or available to the public. Also, there was no financial statement of the county ever issued to the taxpayers, contrary to the law which said such a statement was required four times a year. According to both McAllen papers the attendance continued to climb so that four or five thousand people were attending the meetings. "The redemption of the past, the salvation of the present, and the hope of the future lie in the removal of that gang from Edinburg," declared Gordon Griffin, and the crowd roared its approval. As the meetings continued, battles were being fought on other fronts. One was waged by Sid Hardin, who had not broken with the Democratic Party but had run for Congress in the Democratic Primary. He went into a district court in San Antonio asking for an investigation of voting irregularities. He charged that illegal voters had cast marked ballots in the election. He singled out the "ring" activities of Hidalgo County, composed of A. Y. Baker, L. E. Tinkler and Cam Hill, all of Edinburg, the activities of A. M. Bruni of" Laredo, of Archie Parr of Duval County, and of Horace Guerra of Starr County. 48. Another battle shaped up concerning the Republican Party. Although the Republican State Convention, on the recommendation of the Republican Committeeman, R. B. Creager, had refused to seat the duly elected delegates led by Willard Ferguson of Mission, Ferguson later presented the Citizens Republican slate of candidates to the county clerk, Cam Hill, to be printed on the November ballot. Hill refused on the grounds that the other delegation, the one that had nominated no officers, had been recognized by the Republican State Convention. The reformers filed an application for a mandatory writ of injunction in the district. court in Edinburg. The case was Ed C. Couch, et al, versus Cam E. Hill, et al. The mandamus proceedings came out of the refusal of the county clerk to have printed on the official ballots the names of the candidates running on the Citizens Republican ticket for county officers. The injunction was asking that the official be restrained from printing the ballot without the names of the Republican candidates. "It is said that the refusal was made for the reason that the names were not certified by the proper authority, which is the county chairman of the Republican Party."(l) The case was set for October in the district court. According to newspaper stories at the time, hope ran high among the members of the refor'rn organization that the case would be decided in their favor. The district judge, Hood Boone, part of the county administration's group, decided the case against Ferguson. 49. Ferguson appealed to the Fourth Court of Civil Appeals which upheld the lower court, declaring that executive committees of political parties were supreme in matters settling intra-party disputes. The Citizens Republicans, having been denied the right to list their candidates on the ballot as Republicans, still were not discouraged. Now the women, who had been active since the beginning, moved into the forefront. Early in October, sixty women met in Edinburg to organize the Women's Good Government League, and even though in the 1920's most women did not take active part in politics, the names of some women leaders began to be found in the newspaper stories. Grade Callaway, Edinburg attorney, accompanied by his brother Gibb Callaway, Brownwood lawyer who represented the candidates of the Citizens Republicans, addressed the first meeting of the women's organization. Mrs. R. A. Mittlestead was chosen the presiding officer, Mrs. Neal Brown, secretary, and a committee of four composed of Mrs. H. 0. Schaleben, Mrs. E. F. Jordan, Mrs. V. C. Weinnet, and Mrs. A. G. Haige were to provide programs for their weekly meetings. The women continued to meet, and the numbers increased at each gathering. The Women's Good Government League assumed as its major project the conducting throughout the county of schools to teach voters to write in the names of the candidates. The women worked tirelessly night after night teaching the intricacies of the proper procedure for write-in votes. Voters had to memorize the names of the candidates, the proper spelling of the names, and the position 50. for which they were running. They also had to remember to scratch out the names of the opposing candidates on the ballot. The reformers also sent over 2,000 telegrams to President Coolidge, appealing to him to provide federal supervision in the November election. Several telegrams stated, "An impartial federal investigation would reveal greater corruption than Teapot Dome."(2) A wire from Assistant United States Attorney John Marshall, in answer to the 2,000 telegrams sent to the President, advised the Hidalgo County citizens that their appeal should be sent to the United States District Attorney, H. M. Holden, at Houston. A lengthy, impassioned telegram was sent Mr. Holden. Two desperate paragraphs from the wire found in the files of F. B. Freeland stated: Election irregularities without parallel in the United States have been in custom here for several years. There is ample evidence of illegal practices in holding elections, so much evidence in fact that only a cursory investigation on your part would convince you readily. There are conditions that you will find amazing, corrupt and totally without sanction by law. ...We must have federal relief. As leaders of the good citizens of Hidalgo County we no longer can accept the responsibility for what the people will do unless aid is sent immediately. Ten thousand attended a mass meeting last week and feeling there was such that we may not be able to hold the citizens in check much longer. We need not only guard at the ballot boxes but we need honest, forceful and intelligent supervision of the election itself. (Signed) Committee for election relief in Hidalgo County ...F. B. Freeland, r~ayor of McAllen; D. E. Kirgan, Mayor of Weslaco, R. E. Erwin, Y. P. Yarborough, Grade Callaway. 51. The McAllen Daily Press called Mr. Holden on November 1, 1928 less than a week before the election. Mr. Holden stated that he had asked the F.B.I. to make a "preliminary investigation" to ascertain whether or not a formal investigation was necessary. Asked if there would be an immediate investigation, he told the Press, "I see no reason for any rush." Mr. Freeland and D. E. Worley went to Houston to present United States District Attorney Holden with affidavits and evidence pointing out alleged election irregularities of past elections. Mr. Holden promised an investigation, but warned this could not be done before the November election. Governor Moody ordered Texas Rangers to Edinburg to preserve the peace. When the Rangers arrived they were were not needed. Sheriff A. Y. Baker had already taken care of the situation by placing a large number of his armed deputies in each precinct to preserve the peace. 52. CHAPTER EIGHT Owen P. White wrote in Collier's, June 22, 1929, p. 48, Before the polls closed the taxpayers knew they had won if they could only get a square count, and all night long the men and women both patrolled the neighborhood of the voting booths to keep the enemy from stealing the ballot boxes. That, however, was a useless precaution, because, as the said enemy controlled all the election machinery including the Commissioners' Court, which would certify the returns, there was no need to steal the boxes. They had other ways of doing it, but as you may recall, it was a long time before they made up their minds which method to employ. Hidalgo County was the last county in the United States to send in its returns; 9,000 votes had been cast; more than 5,000 of those bore the names of the Republican candidates, written in by Republican taxpayers, and yet the Democratic County Commissioners certified it was a sweeping Democratic victory. The Citizens Republicans had a candidate who was a latecomer to the November election, Gordon Griffin. After all of the other Democratic nominees had been chosen in the primary election, and after the Republican nominees had been refused a place on the ballot, J. E. Leslie, district judge, found that he had made a miscalculation about the expiration of his term of office. He thought he had two more years to go. He had been appointed to fill an unexpired term, and the county clerk had assumed that Leslie's term would run for four years. Instead, the appointment made by the governor was (by law) only until the next election. Judge 53. Leslie had ties with the county administration but was considered a fair man. The Citizens Republicans, however, wanted a clean sweep of the incumbents, and they particularly wanted their champion, Gordon Griffin, to be the district judge. When Jane McCallum, the Secretary of State, notified Cam Hill, the county clerk, that he had neglected to file a name for the district judge, Hill had wired McCallum for her to tend to her own business and "we would tend to our own down here in Hidalgo County."(l) So the Democratic county committee met, and contrary to law, certified Leslie's name to the county clerk as the Democratic nominee. The Citizens Republicans immediately filed an injunction suit to prevent the clerk and officials from printing Leslie's name on the ballot; therefore, in the district judge's race both candidates for the position had to be written in by the voters. The day following the election, Wednesday, headlines in the McAllen Daily Press stated, "Hidalgo County Election Still Undecided." The story reported that seventeen of the twenty-one boxes had been counted, and the results gave the Citizens Republican candidates a lead. In the sheriff's race Handly was leading Baker by several hundred votes. The McAllen Monitor, a weekly, announced on November 9, 1928, the Friday following the election on Tuesday, that Gordon Griffin had been elected over his opponent, J. E. Leslie for Judge of the Ninety-Third District by a lead of 580 votes, and that Robert 54. Henderson was elected Commissioner of Precinct Two over Marvin Evans by a lead of 71 votes. The rest of the ticket had lost. On November 18, twelve days after the election, the McAl1en Press announced that the county commissioners had canvassed the returns and declared Judge J. E. Leslie winner of the election to the office of district judge to succeed himself. Gordon Griffin had apparently been leading by a safe majority by carrying Weslaco overwhelmingly. The commissioners, however, had found a discrepancy in the Weslaco box and had thrown it out in its entirety. The Citizens Republicans, who had set out to defeat the Democratic incumbents in the summer of 1928, who had been denied the right to appear on the November ballot as Republicans, who had lost out in the courts to challenge the Republican party's decision, had now been counted out, illegally, they believed, in the November election. Still they did not concede. Instead, they charged election irregularities, reported the Press, because "A huge majority in favor of the Citizens Republican candidates was announced early Wednesday morning." Those leading the fight against the county administration worked unceasingly in every precinct and amassed a tremendous amount of evidence showing election irregularities. The reformers held a giant political rally in McAllen, renamed themselves The Good GQvernment League, and hired legal counsel to represent them. At the rally, Mayor Freeland presided and voiced 55. the opinion that the Citizens Republican ticket had been elected. To this statement, the crowd reacted with loud applause. Then Kirgan spoke, urging the crowd not to violate the peace in any way and promising that the fight would never stop until victory had been won. It was necessary to keep reminding these large crowds of the importance of remaining calm for there had been several instances, both at rallies and on the streets of the towns, of near violence. Fortunately, in tbe cases where armed deputies had drawn guns on their enemies, whom they referred to as "grafters," during the heat of arguments, there had always been bystanders to urge the deputies to put up their guns. Often these bystanders had been other county officials with cooler heads. But the rear or violence was always present. The following telegram was dispatched to Washington to the Honorable Frederick R. Lehlback, Chairman or the House of Representatives Committee on Campaign Expenditures: Five thousand Citizens Republicans or Hidalgo County here tonight voted unanimously to respectfully request you to delay hearing on election conditions in the county until we can send representatives with certified evidence to be present at the hearing Stop Wire us whether you would grant this request and when you will grant conference with our representatives Stop Representatives ready to leave now. F. B. Freeland Mayor of McAllen.(2) The reply came back immediately: 56. F. B. Freeland, Mayor of McAllen, Texas Select committee on campaign expenditures House of Representatives will arrive Edinburg, Texas 7:25 A.M. Monday, November 26th stop Have witnesses present and statements outlining their testimony ready Stop Wire names of witnesses you desire subpoenaed. Frederick R. tehlback, Chairman When the Congressional investigating committee arrived at Edinburg on November 26, 1928, they were met at the station by about 1,000 citizens bearing signs such as "All we want is justice," "We want clean government," and other similar placards. The committee conducted its investigations and the results of its work was printed on the Calendar No.720 of the House of Representatives on January 2, 1929. The House investigating committee consisted of the Honorable Frederick R. tehlback of New Jerseyas Chairman, the Honorable John E. Nelson of Maine, the Honorable Carl R. Chinblom of Illinois, and the honorable toring M. Black Jr. of New York. B. D. Kimbrough of McAllen, George and M. E. Clough-of Houston, Ramsower and Sewall, McAllen, and Don Bliss, San Antonio, represented the Citizens Republican Committee and presented the group's complaints to the Congressional committee.(3) Their first complaint was that the county officials had rejected the returns and refused to count the votes cast in the Weslaco election district without any justification by law. The informal count of the Weslaco vote indicated an overwhelming majority for the Citizens Republican candidates. 57. Their second complaint was that several thousand non-English speaking voters, both aliens and citizens, who did not fulfill the legal qualifications to vote, were permitted to vote with ballots marked by the "ring" workers under their direct supervision. This reform movement was not anti-Hispanic. It was a movement against illegal voting. Some of the strongest supporters of the Good Government League were those with Spanish surnames. Unfortunately, in the early days of south Texas hist?ry there were thousands of economically deprived and educationally disadvantaged Mexican Americans who could read and write no language and who spoke only Spanish. They were unaware of the election laws, and for years had been manipulated politically by a handful of Anglos and other Hispanics who used them for their own advantage. The third complaint was that a large number of ballots of legal voters that were perfectly valid under the law were thrown out as mutilated for having names misspellrd and for devious other trivial reasons. This, in spite of the fact that legal instructions to election judges were to count votes when the wishes of the voter could be ascertained. The Citizens Republican lawyers then explained the Texas election laws to the Congressmen. In Texas there was no registra- tion. Voters paid a poll tax and presented the receipt at the time of voting. There was a county judge and county commissioners elected by the voters in each county. Those who held the elections were appointed by these commissioners. The election judges counted 58. the votes for each candidate on tally sheets provided for the purpose, and then the returns were made out in triplicate. One set was to remain in the hands of the presiding election judge for one year. One set was given to the county clerk immediately on the completion of the counting, and as soon as possible the informal results were to be made public. The third set of returns was placed in a sealed envelope and delivered, together with the tally sheets, to the county judge. The county commissioners met to canvass the returns. At that time the county judge opened the sealed envelope and the returns were tabulated and the results were final. The law stated that the envelope should be sealed, but Mr. Kimbrough pointed out that the trend of Texas court decisions had been that, in the absence of fraud, resulting from leaving an envelope unsealed, through an oversight of the election judge, the voters of the district could not be deprived of their votes. The lawyers representing the county officials were E. A. McDaniel, McAllen, B. D. Tarlton Jr., Corpus Christi, J. R. Daugherty, Beeville, J. A. Graham, Brownsville, D. W. Glasscock, Mercedes, and E. F. Smith, Austin. The point made in their brief was that the investigating committee had no jurisdiction unless national officers such as the President were being investigated. Their second point was that since Gordon Griffin, candidate for Judge of the Ninety-Third District Court of Hidalgo County, had already filed a suit in the district court of Travis County in 59. Austin to prevent Judge Leslie's name from being certified as the elected judge, and since a temporary injunction had been granted and a trial date set for January 8, 1929, that the proper place for the facts to be presented would be in a court rather than in a Congressional investigating committee. Their third point was that the charges were untrue. The Weslaco box was thrown out for failure to seal the election returns as required by law. They quoted a previous court case to uphold their position. In answering charges about illegal voters, the brief stated that while party workers had paid many poll taxes for the Mexican Americans, that it had been done with money obtained from the voters themselves. As for the mutilated ballots being discarded, the brief stated that there had been a large number of. such ballots because of write-in candidates, and that the election judges had been impartial in discarding them.

March 09,2006
Victoria Hirschberg
The Monitor

Salinas earns majority over Garcia with all precincts in

EDINBURG ? It looks like Juan de Dios "J.D." Salinas garnered enough votes to be the next Hidalgo County Judge after all 140 precincts reported Wednesday afternoon ? almost one day after polls closed.

But incumbent Ramon Garcia said he?s not ready to concede yet. He wants all votes counted and evaluated, and as of late Wednesday, Elections Administrator Teresa Navarro said there were 22 outstanding votes ? one provisional ballot and 21 potential ballots from overseas ? and Garcia, 57, said he wants everything in place before conceding.

"There are issues that need to be looked at," he said. "We?ve been getting quite a bit of phone calls and quite a bit of information to digest."

Meanwhile, Salinas, 37, is eager to start work and planning for his upcoming post, which he will take Jan. 1, 2007. After

watching most of the votes come in late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Salinas said he is glad it?s over.

"There seemed like there wasn?t closure (until the last precinct was counted)," he said. "I knew I had the votes, I just wanted it to be posted."

Unofficial results from the Elections Department indicate that Salinas had 24,479 votes, while Garcia received 24,188. Overall, about 51,400 people voted in Hidalgo County.

Amid rumors of lost ballot boxes and missing building keys, Navarro said primary night glitches were relatively minor. In fact, if it wasn?t for the tight county judge race, people wouldn?t have noticed the hold-ups, she said.

"Because it was so close and when you have (situations) occurring, you?re that much more careful," she said.

The first situation occurred at the Kika de la Garza building in Mission. Here, there was confusion when an election judge reported three votes from an unused machine. Navarro said those were from the November constitutional election and were not counted in Tuesday?s primary.

Then, election judges at Hidalgo City Hall forgot to close the machines properly, thus causing a late-night drive to get the votes, Navarro said. That site was the last precinct to report. Navarro said they waited until mid-Wednesday to report the results because she wanted to carefully check the numbers. The approximate 200 votes from Hidalgo bumped up Salinas? numbers.

Until almost 6 p.m. Wednesday, technicians were working to retrieve 30 votes from a La Villa site. Navarro said the machine malfunctioned, but after several hours of maneuvering, the votes were posted.

Overall, she said most of the glitches were human error.

"(Elections workers) know everyone is waiting. They?re nervous," she said. "But overall, you?re just looking at three locations."

Although Hidalgo County officials recently invested millions of dollars in a new computerized-touch screen voting system, election workers still physically need to close machines, print results and drive them to the Elections Department in Edinburg.

As for the 22 overseas votes, the Secretary of State mandated that these votes must be received by March 20, as long as they were postmarked before 7 p.m. on March 7. The Ballot Board must approve the provisional ballot, Navarro said.

"My point is we have to make sure everything is in order if it affects the outcome of the election," she said.

The only disappointing point for Navarro was the low turnout on primary day. Out of about 271,000 registered voters, about 19 percent voted. Possibly, voters stayed away this year so they could sign petitions for independent gubernatorial candidates Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, she said. These challengers need signatures from 45,540 Texans who did not vote in the primary before May 11.

Who can vote by mail?

· if you are going to be away from the county during those times during which you could vote in person

· you are sick or disabled

· you will be 65 years of age or older on election day

· you are confined in jail but not convicted of a felony.



How do I get a ballot?

· To vote by mail, you must first apply for a ballot. We must receive your application no earlier than 60 days before election day and no later than the close of business 7 days day before election day. If the deadline falls on a weekend, the last day to submit an application is the preceding Friday. If the deadline falls on a state or federal holiday, the ballot must be received on the preceding business day.



Where do I get an application?

· To apply for a ballot by mail, please print the attached application. Once application is completed, please mail (only Postal mail can be accepted unless requesting application from out of Hidalgo County) to:



Teresa R. Navarro

Elections Administration

PO Box 659

Edinburg, TX. 78540



How soon must I return the ballot?

· We must receive your marked ballot by 7 p.m. on election day! If you are mailing your ballot from outside the United States, we must receive your ballot by the fifth day after election day.



For more information on ballot by mail and FPCAs, call us at (956)318-2570.

PRECINCT CITY BUILDING ADDRESS LOCATION
1 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
2 Weslaco Old Weslaco City Hall 500 S. Kansas Commissioners Chambers
3 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
4 San Juan San Juan Fire Station # 2 2301 N. Longoria Road Meeting Room
5 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
6 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
7 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
8 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
9 Mission Bryan Elementary 1110 Bryan Road
10 Mission Castro Elementary School 420 Citriana
11 La Joya Lady Queen of Angels Church 815 S Leo Ave.
12 Mission Fire Station #2 1804 N. Shary Road Garage
13 Edinburg Robert E. Lee School 1215 W. Sprague St. Main School Entrance
14 Edinburg Jefferson Elementary School 904 S. 12th St. Gym
15 Elsa John F. Kennedy School 500 W. 9th Room H2-rear of School
16 Edcouch Santiago Garcia Elementary 539 Llano Grande
17 La Villa La Villa City Hall 916 S. Mike Chapa
18 Hargill Hargill Elementary School 11 Miles N. of Edg. on Hwy 281 Gym
or 7 Miles East of FM 490
19 San Manuel Brewster Elementary 1/4 Mile West FM 1017 Main Entrance
20 Hidalgo Hidalgo City Hall 704 E. Texano Council Chambers
21 Weslaco Clecker/Hearld Elementary 1610 W, Sugar Cane
22 Weslaco "New" City Hall 255 S. Kansas
23 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
24 McCook McCook Grain Exchange, Inc. 1 1/2 Miles E. McCook Hwy. 490 Main Lobby
25 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
26 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
27 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
28 Mission Mission High School 1802 W. 18th St.
29 Mission Pearson Elementary 315 N. Holland Ave.
30 Edinburg Edinburg Fire Station 212 W. Mclntyre St. Training Room
31 Edinburg Fountain Center 1210 E. Kuhn
32 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
33 Hargill Hargill Elementary School 11 Miles N. of Edg. on Hwy 281 Gym
or 7 Miles East of FM 490
34 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
35 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
36 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
37 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
38 Mission Fire Station #2 1804 N. Shary Road Garage
39 San Juan San Juan Fire Station # 2 2301 N. Longoria Road Meeting Room
40 Progreso Dorothy Thompson School FM 1015 & Shelby St.
41 Weslaco "New" City Hall 255 S. Kansas
42 Weslaco Clecker/Hearld Elementary 1610 W, Sugar Cane
43 San Carlos San Carlos Elementary School 1/2 Mile So. of East Hwy. 107 Main Building Entrance
on 3rd St. (south side of School)
44 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
45 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
46 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
47 McAllen Lincoln Middle School 1601 N. 27th St
48 McAllen Palmview Community Center 3401 Jordan Avenue Aerobics Room
49 McAllen Lincoln Middle School 1601 N. 27th St
50 La Joya Lady Queen of Angels Church 815 S Leo Ave.









Elections Dept. 1/5
51 Sullivan Sullivan City Hall Expressway 83 S. Cenizo Dr. Main Entrance
52 Edinburg Freddy Gonzalez School 2401 S. Sugar Road
53 Edinburg Francisco Barrientes School 1100 E. Ebony Lane Main Entrance
54 McAllen Lark Community Center 2601 Lark Avenue Exercise Room
55 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
56 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
57 Weslaco "New" City Hall 255 S. Kansas
58 Weslaco Clecker/Hearld Elementary 1610 W, Sugar Cane
59 San Juan San Juan Fire Station # 2 2301 N. Longoria Road Meeting Room
60 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
61 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
62 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
63 Mission Fire Station #2 1804 N. Shary Road Garage
64 Palmview County Commissioner Pct. #3 Office 724 Breyfogle Road Lobby
65 McAllen Lark Community Center 2601 Lark Avenue Exercise Room
66 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
67 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
68 Lull Capilla De San Jose Church 4401 Flores St. Main Entrance
69 San Carlos San Carlos Elementary School 1/2 Mile So. of East Hwy. 107 Main Building Entrance
on 3rd St. (south side of School)
70 Elsa John F. Kennedy School 500 W. 9th Room H2-rear of School
71 Weslaco Stephen F. Austin School 514 W. 4th St. USDA Building
72 McAllen Lark Community Center 2601 Lark Avenue Exercise Room
73 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
74 McAllen Lark Community Center 2601 Lark Avenue Exercise Room
75 Mission Garza Elementary School Intersection of 5 mile line & Taylo Rd
76 McCook McCook Grain Exchange, Inc. 1 1/2 Miles E. McCook Hwy. 490 Main Lobby
77 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
78 Palmview County Commissioner Pct. #3 Office 724 Breyfogle Road Lobby
79 Edcouch Santiago Garcia Elementary 539 Llano Grande
81 McAllen Lark Community Center 2601 Lark Avenue Exercise Room
83 Mission Fire Station #2 1804 N. Shary Road Garage
84 Mission Fire Station #2 1804 N. Shary Road Garage
85 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
87 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
88 Mission Garza Elementary School Intersection of 5 mile line & Taylo Rd
89 Mission Garza Elementary School Intersection of 5 mile line & Taylo Rd
90 Elsa John F. Kennedy School 500 W. 9th Room H2-rear of School
91 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
92 Weslaco "New" City Hall 255 S. Kansas
94 Mission Pearson Elementary 315 N. Holland Ave.
95 McAllen Palmview Community Center 3401 Jordan Avenue Aerobics Room
96 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
97 McAllen Lincoln Middle School 1601 N. 27th St
98 Mission Mission High School 1802 W. 18th St.
99 Palmview County Commissioner Pct. #3 Office 724 Breyfogle Road Lobby
100 Palmview County Commissioner Pct. #3 Office 724 Breyfogle Road Lobby
101 Palmhurst Faith Baptist Church 4301 N. Shary Road Gym
102 Mission Castro Elementary School 420 Citriana
103 Mission Bryan Elementary 1110 Bryan Road
104 San Carlos San Carlos Elementary School 1/2 Mile S. of E. Hwy. 107 Main Building Entrance
on 3rd St. (South side of School)
105 Edinburg Freddy Gonzalez School 2401 S. Sugar Road
106 Edinburg Freddy Gonzalez School 2401 S. Sugar Road
107 Edinburg Robert E. Lee School 1215 W. Sprague St. Main School Entrance
108 Edinburg Fountain Center 1210 E. Kuhn
109 Edinburg Edinburg Fire Station 212 W. Mclntyre St. Training Room
110 Edinburg Francisco Barrientes School 1100 E. Ebony Lane Main Entrance
111 Weslaco Old Weslaco City Hall 500 S. Kansas Commissioners Chambers
112 Weslaco "New" City Hall 255 S. Kansas
Elections Dept. 2/5
113 Weslaco Stephen F. Austin School 514 W. 4th St. USDA Building
114 Weslaco Stephen F. Austin School 514 W. 4th St. USDA Building
115 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
116 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
117 San Juan San Juan Fire Station # 2 2301 N. Longoria Road Meeting Room
118 San Juan San Juan Fire Station # 2 2301 N. Longoria Road Meeting Room
119 Elsa John F. Kennedy School 500 W. 9th Room H2-rear of School
120 Donna A. Ochoa Elementary 424 S. 11th St. Portable Building, #36
121 Mercedes Mercedes City Hall 400 S. Ohio Avenue Commissioners Room
122 Hidalgo Hidalgo City Hall 704 E. Texano Council Chambers
123 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
124 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
125 Mission Garza Elementary School Intersection of 5 mile line & Taylo Rd
126 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
127 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
128 Mission Pearson Elementary 315 N. Holland Ave.
129 Lull Capilla De San Jose Church 4401 Flores St. Main Entrance
130 Alamo Alamo Middle School 1819 W. Hwy. Bus. 83 Gym
131 La Joya Lady Queen of Angels Church 815 S Leo Ave.
132 La Joya Lady Queen of Angels Church 815 S Leo Ave.
133 Palmview County Commissioner Pct. #3 Office 724 Breyfogle Road Lobby
134 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
135 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
136 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
137 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
138 McAllen McAllen High School 2021 La Vista Ave. Main Entrance
139 McAllen Fields Elementary 500 Dallas Avenue Cafeteria
140 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
141 McAllen Gonzalez Elementary School 201 E. Martin Main Entrance
142 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
143 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
144 Pharr Liberty Middle School 1212 S. Fir St. Cafeteria
Elections Dept. 3/5
Elections Dept. 4/5
Elections Dept. 5/5

HIDALGO COUNTY. Hidalgo County (T-16), in South Texas, is bordered by Cameron County on the east, Brooks County on the north, Starr County on the west, and Mexico on the south. The county seat, Edinburg, is at the junction of U.S. highways 107 and 281. The center point of the county is at 26°23' north latitude and 98°10' west longitude. Other communities of note in Hidalgo County are McAllen, Weslaco, Mission, Peñitas, and San Juan. Hidalgo County comprises 1,596 square miles of the Rio Grande delta. Its elevations range from forty to 200 feet. The northern part of the county has sandy and light loamy soils over deep reddish or mottled, clayey subsoils. In some areas limestone lies within forty inches of the surface. The southern part of the county has moderately deep to deep loamy surfaces over clayey subsoils. Along the Rio Grande brown to red clays occur. Hidalgo County is in the South Texas Plainsqv vegetation area, which features grasses, mesquite, live oaks, and chaparral. Native plants, reduced in recent years by extensive farming, include chapote, guayacan, ebony, huisache, Brazilwood, and yucca. In 1982, 91 percent of the land was in farms and ranches, with 52 percent of the farmland under cultivation and 85 percent irrigated; 51 to 60 percent of the county was considered prime farmland. The primary crops were sorghum, cotton, corn, and vegetables; Hidalgo County led Texas counties in the production of cabbage, onions, cantaloupes, carrots, and watermelons. The primary fruits and nuts grown in the county were grapefruit, oranges, and pecans. Cattle, milk cows, and hogs were the primary livestock products. Natural resources included caliche, sand, gravel, oil, and gas. Oil and gas production in 1982 totaled 98,487,211,000 cubic feet of gas-well gas, 139,995 barrels of crude oil, 1,101,666 barrels of condensate, and 15,784,000 cubic feet of casinghead gas. The climate is subtropical and subhumid. Temperatures range from an average low of 47° F in January to an average high to 96° in July; the average annual temperature is 73°. Rainfall averages twenty-three inches a year, and the growing season lasts for 320 days of the year.

Indians have called the area home for 11,000 years. Artifacts dating to the Archaic Period indicate that inhabitants of the region were hunters and gatherers who practised no agriculture and kept no domestic animals except a few dogs. Subsequently, some forms of agriculture, such as raising maize, were introduced. Several major linguistic groups called the lower Rio Grande valleyqv home, including Coahuilteco and Karankawa. The Coahuiltecans in the future county hunted a wide variety of animals, fished, gathered berries, fruits, and roots, and used mountain laurel for its narcotic effects. The Lipan Apaches, having been forced out of Colorado and New Mexico by the Comanches, entered Texas in the 1700s and gained control of South Texas by 1775. The Comanches followed them and arrived in South Texas in the early nineteenth century.

Some historians surmise that Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vacaqv traveled through the area after his 1528 shipwreck. In August 1638 Jacinto García de Sepulveda crossed the Rio Grande into the area at the site of Mier in search of Dutch sailors reported on the Texas coast. In 1687 the second expedition of Alonso De Leónqv in search of Fort St. Louis also followed the river route. In 1747 Miguel de la Garza Falcónqv reconnoitered the northern bank of the river in search of suitable land to establish a settlement. He found the land unsuitable even for stock raising and condemned it as uninhabitable. Despite his judgment, the area again drew the attention of the Spanish crown, and in 1749 José de Escandónqv was assigned the task of colonizing the area. He established four towns on the southern banks of the Rio Grande including Reynosa (1749), which was originally located across the river from the site of present-day Peñitas. He founded Camargo, Mier, and Revilla (now Guerrero) in 1749, 1750, and 1752 respectively. Settlers from these colonies later crossed the Rio Grande and settled the northern banks of the river. About eighty porciones in about nineteen grants were issued in the future Hidalgo County by the Spanish and Mexican governments. Colonization was left in the hands of the grantees, who established settlements along the river as well as in the northern reaches of the future county. A settlement called La Habitación, also known as Rancho San Luis or San Luisito, was established north of the river at the site of present-day Hidalgo, Texas, in 1774. Because the land was suitable for cattle and sheep raising the grantees turned to ranching with great success. Among the first settlers was Juan José Ynojosa de Ballí, who was issued the Llano Grande grant on May 29, 1790. Another successful rancher was José Manuel Gómez, who received the Santa Anita grant in 1798. In 1797 he established the Santa Anita Ranch, which was still in operation in 1995 under the name McAllen Ranch.qv Most of the other grantees also managed to settle their land and become successful ranchers.

By 1836 area farmers had a thriving economic base that allowed them to export their cattle and cattle by-products into Mexico. Goods were moved by wagon and mule trains, whose owners were so organized that they kept boats off the Rio Grande until after 1840. With the outbreak of the Texas Revolutionqv the area became disputed territory, Mexico considered it part of Tamaulipas, and Texas claimed it as part of its southern border. During the Mexican War,qv Zachary Taylorqv laid out the Old Military Roadqv to supply his men in northern Mexico. In 1849 the area became a popular stopping point for goldseekers from the United States on their way to California. The military road had become part of the Gila Route to the West Coast. By 1850 about thirty-nine ranches were in operation in what later became Hidalgo County . Mexico was the main market for goods from the area. Residents grew a variety of fruits and vegetables, including squash, citrus fruit, and corn. After 1849 the Oblates of Mary Immaculateqv periodically visited the ranches between Brownsville and Laredo. Hidalgo County was part of the disputed territory during the Mexican War.qv After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgoqv of 1848 the area became part of San Patricio County. In the same year the region was further subdivided and became part of Cameron County.

Hidalgo County was formed in 1852 and named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla,qv who gave the "cry for Mexican independence" from Spanish rule. By 1852 the county had between forty and forty-five ranches. As land was parceled out from one generation to the next the ranches located along the river developed into villages. In this way, ranches gave rise to the communities of La Habitación, Relampago, and Peñitas. Ranches away from the river included Laguna Seca Ranch, founded in 1867, Mora Relámpago Ranch (1875), and San Manuel Ranch (1876). Generally, inhabitants of the area, especially those in the north, made a living by stock raising, while those along the river were involved in transportation, agriculture, and trade with Mexico. In 1852 La Habitación was renamed Edinburgh and made county seat. The first county court convened on September 2, 1852, and as its first act issued licences to ferries at Hidalgo, San Luis, Peñitas, and Las Cuevas. José M. J. Carbajalqv was an early court reporter. County residents were isolated from each other, however, and from the population center of Brownsville in neighboring Cameron County. Because of their sense of neglect by state and federal governments, residents adopted the name "Republic of Hidalgo." Isolation and ineffective law enforcement led to general chaos and lawlessness, mostly in the form of cattle raids and shootouts. The "Cortina Wars" also caused disturbances, especially when Juan Nepomuceno Cortina,qv on his way to a robbery, was intercepted by a force of Texas Rangers.qv The skirmish known as the battle of La Bolsa occurred on February 4, 1860, in El Zacatal, south of Progreso in southeast Hidalgo County. Despite difficulties, ranching dominated the economy in 1860, when 10,695 cattle and 3,330 sheep were counted; the latter produced 10,900 pounds of wool. Rustling also thrived. As early as December 28, 1862, armed Mexican bandits crossed into Los Ebanos, captured a Confederate wagontrain, and killed three teamsters. At other times Mexican cattle rustlers would cross into Texas with the purpose of stealing as many cattle as possible. Hidalgo County did not prosper from the Civil Warqv as did Cameron County, but instead found itself battling cattle rustlers, who were joined by both Union and Confederate deserters. In 1870 rustlers were attracted to a county with 18,141 cattle and 11,270 sheep and a population of only 2,387. From 1872 to 1875 Sheriff Alex J. Leo repeatedly wired Washington requesting troops to curtail cattle rustling and end the "Cattle Wars," but his efforts were in vain. On April 2, 1875, Capt. Leander H. McNellyqv and a band of Texas Rangers arrived to help.

Hidalgo County had become a haven for outlaws from both sides of the river by the middle of the nineteenth century. Politically it had become a battleground, as various groups vied for dominance of county politics. Party affiliations, especially with the Reds and Blues,qv were firmly entrenched by 1869. Members of the Democratic party,qv known as the Reds, included Thaddeus Rhodes, Ben Kidder, Pete Champion, W. P. Dougherty and James Dougherty. The Republican partyqv members, the Blues, included John McAllen, Jesse Bennett, and Dr. Alexander M. Headley.qv The Reds ruled the county for most of the last third of the nineteenth century. Their ineffective government was blamed for the county's having eight sheriffs between 1869 and 1876. It was alleged that the Reds kept control of the county by using the pachanga or block vote, which entailed rounding up men, filling them with food and liquor, and paying their poll tax. In Hidalgo County, Martin "Big Drunk" Norgraves, who served as first county clerk, was credited as organizer of block voting. By 1880 the population was 4,347, and all except women and the 114 African Americansqv were fair game for the parties looking for votes. Not until 1882, when John Closnerqv was elected deputy sheriff, was control over cattle rustlers achieved. Closner became sheriff in 1890 and shortly afterward, under the protection of James B. Wells,qv became the county's political boss. During his rule he brought peace to the county and was seen as such an effective leader that he was nicknamed the "father" of Hidalgo County. In the process, however, he made many enemies. During the 1890s his rivals tried to have him assassinated twice and brought a ranger investigation against him. He was accused of mistreating prisoners, and he later admitted that he could have gone a little too far in pressuring suspects to confess to crimes. Though Closner's Reds were effective in bringing law and order to the county, the rivalry with the Blues did not abate. It came to a head in August 1890, when the Blues set up their polls and judges while the Reds held elections. This effectively gave the county two sets of officials. The Blues wanted to stop the Reds' use of the pachanga, which gave undocumented aliens access to the polls. Consequently, Dr. Headley and a company of 150 Blues took over Edinburgh and ruled the for several days under the moniker "Independent Republic of Hidalgo." United States officials ended Headley's "republic" when he attempted to collect customs at the border.

Despite political turmoil and cattle rustling, the county population grew to 6,534 by 1890. Ranching reached its peak that year with 71,176 cattle; 20,906 sheep gave 41,074 pounds of wool. The Garza Warqv came to an end in 1891, when Catarino Erasmo Garzaqv and his men were defeated at La Joya in southwest Hidalgo County. In 1886 Edinburgh was washed away by a severe flood, after which it was moved to another flood-prone site about two miles north of the river. The county population was estimated at 6,837 in 1900. The Hidalgo Advance, the county's first newspaper, went into publication in March 1903. It was published for the sole purpose of advertising the county and attracting a railroad. When it arrived in 1904, the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway made a big difference. In 1903 land sold for twenty-five cents an acre, but by 1906 it was selling at fifty dollars an acre, and by 1910 the price had increased to as much as $300 an acre. Farming in Hidalgo County was not practiced on a large scale until the latter part of the nineteenth century. Citrus fruits were among the first products cultivated. By 1878 Carlota Vela at the Laguna Seca Ranch had a small orange grove that was known for the quality of its fruit. Later the primary crops were cotton and sugarcane planted on large plantations for export. The first attempt at growing cane on a large scale was made in 1883 by John Closner, who established a plantation and mill near the site of present-day Pharr. Attempts to irrigate rice were unsuccessful, but citrus fruits and vegetables were produced on a commercial basis starting around 1907, when W. A. Fitch planted a commercial-scale grapefruit orchard near Mercedes. Chapin, a community established in 1908, was soon made county seat and renamed Edinburg. The old county seat, Edinburgh, was moved away from the river and renamed Hidalgo. With the introduction of the railroad and the influx of settlers wishing to establish farms during the first decade of the twentieth century, the county's economic base shifted toward farming. The primary crops were corn and cotton. The population was estimated at 13,728 in 1910. In 1911 the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway made junction with the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway at San Benito. The Texas and New Orleans built into the Valley in 1927.

During the first decade of the twentieth century Closner and his Democratic machine ran unopposed, and nominees for district and state offices received 90 percent of the votes. In 1914 the county had only 700 Anglo-American farmers who had paid their poll tax, as opposed to the 1,200 Hispanics that the Democratic machine could mobilize. In 1914 the Good Government League was established after Judge James H. Edwardsqv was ousted by the Closner regime. The league was made up exclusively of Anglo farmers, businessmen, and professionals who supported Edwards and promised to "clean up" Hidalgo County politics. Because the league's intentions included disfranchising Hispanics, the campaign to change the system took on strong racial overtones. The Closner regime was perceived as pandering to Hispanics, although fewer than one-fourth of government positions were held by them. Racial and social tensions increased between old-timers, mainly ranchers, and newcomers, mainly farmers. Closner's reign ended in 1918, when an audit revealed that as county treasurer he had misappropriated $150,000 from the county, drainage districts, and the school district. Sheriff Anderson Y. Bakerqv then took control over the Democratic machine and maintained it for twelve years, through voter manipulation, election fraud, and large-scale graft. Because of the machine's shenanigans the Weslaco ballot box was thrown out during the 1928 county election. In the resulting "Hidalgo County Rebellion"qv the citizens of Weslaco armed themselves against the Mexican voters, whom they considered pawns of the machine. Weslaco's Anglo voters, all new farmers to the area and opposed to the regime, asked for and got a federal investigation. The investigation not only hurt the machine but further marginalized Hispanic voters, who were scared away from the polls. In 1929, in yet another attempt to oust the remnants of boss rule, the Good Government League, headed by Charles H. Pease,qv led a successful struggle to remove county government from control of a faction that monopolized irrigation projects and oil. Thus Wells and Closner's political machine, which ran Hidalgo County and caused its economic boom, was in the end ousted by the settlers it attracted.

In 1920 the population was 38,110, more than double what it had been in 1910, and the number of farms had increased to 1,727, seven times the number of farms in 1890. John H. Shary,qv who became a successful land developer and promoter, arrived in Hidalgo County in 1912. Shary, who developed the citrus industry, was selling his grapefruit by 1919. In 1924 a regional Texas Agricultural Experiment Stationqv was established in Weslaco. Thriving towns sprang up across the southern part of the county east to west along U.S. Highway 83, which by 1930 was described as the "longest main street in the world." Race relations in Hidalgo County during the nineteenth century had been fairly amicable even as the number of Anglo-Americans moving to the area increased. With the advent of the railroad Hidalgo County became a magnet for settlers from the Midwest and the East. These settlers, unlike their ranching predecessors, were not willing to adapt to Hispanic culture and considered themselves superior to Mexican Americans.qv Consequently, all the new towns that developed along the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway during the first twenty years of the twentieth century were fully segregated. The two best known for their segregationqv were Weslaco and McAllen, but most of the other towns along U.S. 83 were segregated, unlike the old towns of Hidalgo, Peñitas, and Relampago. The wall between the races became increasingly impenetrable. Between 1912 and 1915 border raids claimed at least thirty Anglo lives and several hundred Mexican lives, converted the area into a combat zone, and brought settlement to a halt. Though the raiders disrupted lives and stole cattle, law-enforcement officers were also accused of excessive violence and unjust practices. Toward the end of the 1920s, however, settlement resumed and segregation had become the norm. Because all the new towns were fully segregated it was impossible for Hispanic children to get an equal education. Inexperienced teachers were assigned to teach at the Mexican schools, which were usually overcrowded and ill equipped. There were no Mexican high schools because Hispanics were not expected to advance beyond elementary school. This deprivation led to self-perpetuating poverty as uneducated (and therefore poor) parents removed their children from school so that they could help support the family. In 1930 the county's population was estimated at 77,004, of which 41,522 individuals were identified as "Mexican."

By 1930 the conversion of the economy to truck farming was complete. That year there were only 34,505 cattle, and the number of farms had increased to 4,321, more than double the number in 1920. The primary crops were cotton, planted on 131,884 acres, and corn, planted on 14,658 acres. Stock farming and ranching continued mainly in the northern part of the county, where cattle, sheep, and poultry were the main livestock. Despite the Great Depression,qv the county's population increased to 106,059 in 1940. The number of residents always fluctuated, however, during any given year because migrant farmworkers and winter Texans or "snowbirds" came and went. The first producing oil well in the county was brought in on September 18, 1934, by Otto C. Woods. The oil and gas industryqv soon became important in the county. With the increase in population the number of farms grew by 1940 to 5,094. Hidalgo County got its first military base in 1941, when Moore Air Field was built twelve miles northwest of Mission. The field was operated by the United States Army Air Force during World War IIqv and was named for Lt. Frank Murchison Moore, a Texan. That year the county's sixty-two manufacturing establishments produced $6,502,129 in products. The population was estimated at 160,446 in 1950. By that year the county had 5,314 farms, and citrus fruit production had become the most important industry. That year's harvest yielded 3,093,792 boxes of oranges and 169,245 tons of grapefruit. Cotton production was 197,267 bales, and corn production was 72,495 bushels. The population of Hidalgo County was estimated at 180,904 in 1960. By 1967 the county had produced twenty million barrels of oil. In 1969 an estimated $50 million came from Hidalgo County's winter vegetables, citrus fruit, and cotton. That year the number of farms had declined to 4,124, a decrease attributable to the increase in farming corporations. By 1970 the population of Hidalgo County had reached 181,533. The civil-rights movementqv that had swept the country during the 1960s brought increased participation of Hispanics in Hidalgo County politics, though problems related to race were not over, as the "Pharr Police Riot" of 1971 illustrates (see PHARR, TEXAS). In Donna, migrant farmworkers' children were sent to a separate school until the late 1970s. Colonias started cropping up around the county as more Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande in an attempt to improve their lives, and some local businessmen exploited the recent migrants by selling them useless land. The immigration increased throughout the 1970s. The population doubled between 1970 and 1977, to an estimated 232,300. By 1978 Hidalgo County was averaging $188 million in annual farm income, 90 percent of which came from cotton, corn, citrus fruit, sugarcane, and grain. Also by that year the average annual income from mineral production, including oil and gas, was $65 million. The peso devaluation of 1976 did not have an immediate effect on the economy of the Rio Grande valley. Not until the mid-1980s did area merchants who catered to Mexican nationals began to experience the negative effects of the several devaluations that occurred in that decade. Clothiers, jewelers, car dealers, and some real estate agents were hurt; agribusiness, ranching, and the oil industry suffered less.

In 1980 the population was estimated at 283,229, including 15,868 retired workers. The industries with the most workers were agribusiness, tourism, oil and gas field servicing, construction, frozen food processing and canning, meat packing, and soft drink bottling, industries which earned an aggregate of $1,575,879,000. In 1982 Hidalgo County had 171 manufacturers with 7,100 employees and products valued at $211.9 million. In 1982 Hidalgo County was ranked sixty-fourth among all United States counties in the highest birth rate and twelfth in highest percent of Hispanic-origin residents. The county has never experienced a decrease in population. Its residents numbered 383,545 in 1990. Hispanics, Germans,qv and Anglo-Americans are the three largest ethnic groups. But the labor force that made Hidalgo County a prosperous agricultural region also made it the poorest in the nation. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area had the lowest per capita income (estimated at $7,001) in the United States in 1987. Furthermore, Hidalgo County had the state's highest unemployment rate, and county government was so underfunded that its independent health-care program ran out of money halfway through the fiscal year. Nevertheless, corporations were doing well, and by 1988 more than $1 billion a year in goods passed through the foreign trade zone located south of McAllen in south central Hidalgo County. After its warehouses filled up that year, the foreign trade zone had to turn away tenants. In 1988 Hidalgo County hosted 80,000 "winter Texans." Retail sales rose 22.6 percent that year. Little profit found its way to the poorest people, however, a fact reflected in the standard of living of coloniaqv dwellers, of whom an estimated 52,000 lived in 366 colonias in 1986. The problems of inadequate water supply and substandard housing were rife among colonia residents, many of whom were migrant farmworkers. It was hoped that in the 1990s part of the problem would be solved by new trade and opportunities for employment brought by the North American Free Trade Agreement. Because of its proximity to Mexico, Hidalgo County was also a favored entry point for drug smugglers. In 1992 it was discovered that an unusually high number of children born in the county were being born with anencephaly, a neural birth defect. As of 1989, twenty-seven out of every 10,000 babies born to Hispanic women in the area had neural birth defects, and this situation had not improved by 1992, when women of child-bearing age were told to consume folic acid to prevent further defects while various organizations studied the problem. Inhabitants of Hidalgo County consistently voted Democratic from 1852 to 1992, with the exceptions of the 1860, 1928, 1952, 1956, and 1972 elections. Recreation facilities in the county include the Hidalgo County Historical Corridor which spans the southern portion of the county and various parks and wildlife refuges, including Santa Ana National Wildlife Refugeqv and the Las Palomas Wildlife Management area. Special events include the Citrus Fiesta,qv the Weslaco Sugarfest, and the Rio Grande Valley Stock Show. Fishing and hunting are also available throughout the year. The county has several museums and historic homes. La Lomita Missionqv is located in Mission, and the Virgen de San Juan del Valle Shrineqv is in San Juan.

State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville, on Tuesday, January 23, honored the memory of the late Sen. Frank Madla, D-San Antonio – which would have been Madla’s 70th birthday. The veteran lawmaker was killed November 24, 2006 in a house fire in San Antonio. Co-authoring the Memorial Resolution was Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, who also honored Madla’s five-year-old granddaughter, Aleena, and his mother-in-law, Mary Cruz, 81, both of whom perished in the fire, with separate resolutions that Lucio coauthored. The entire body of the Senate signed onto all three documents. Accepting the resolutions were Madla’s wife, Helen Madla; son, Dr. Frank Madla III; daughter, Marci Madla; brother, Ralph Madla; and other members of the family. Featured in this portrait, which was taken on the floor of the Senate chambers, are Lucio (center), presenting a Texas State Cemetery flag to Dr. Frank Madla, Jr. and his wife, Nenette, pictured to the right of Lucio. At the far right is Marci Madla, who also received a flag. Left to right are Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington; Van de Putte, and Helen Madla, who received the flag that was draped over her husband’s coffin at the burial.

Around the States

Electionline Assists In Covering Up Election Meltdown In Texas PDF Print Email
By John Gideon, VotersUnite.org and VoteTrustUSA
March 16, 2006

Electionline's newsletter, read by election officials across the country, led off this week with an article by Mindy Moretti with the upbeat title "Texas primary goes well, state officials say; glitches reported locally". The article reads like a PR piece from the voting machine vendors - it might as well be just that. The primaries in Texas last week were an unmitigated disaster as John Gideon's letter to Ms. Moretti points out. Thankfully we have John's Daily Voting News to let election officials and the voters they serve know what really happened last week in Texas. And just what is it that makes it okay if it was just a "glitch"?



Ms. Moretti,



Thank you for the work you put into writing this article. Unfortunately you probably should have spent a bit more time researching and then telling the whole story.


You mention a couple problem areas, using the typical "glitch" when there were some huge problems. You talk about Tarrant Co. but you don't tell the whole story; 100,000 extra votes added to the total. The county has admitted they really don't know what the results were and now, even after promising the candidates that the county would pay for the recount, the candidates will have to pay for any recounts. In Jefferson Co. ES&S failed so badly that they have volunteered to pay to do the recount.



You mention that voters liked the machines. You didn't speak about the fact that where voters had a choice between paper or electronic, they overwhelmingly chose to use paper ballots. When precincts completely run out of paper ballots and there are e-voting machines sitting there, that seems to point to voters making a choice.



The opinion of the election officials you chose to quote notwithstanding, it was actually pretty bad last week and the problems were not 'glitches'. In many cases they were big problems that are resulting in recounts and possibly worse. Of course, the state who forced the counties to use these new machines won't tell the truth and the counties won't tell the truth. We need to accurately report the facts to let everyone know the truth and not report fluff to cover up what has really happened.



Here are some of the news stories that appeared "locally" over the past week from Texas. Perhaps you need to read the articles and try again:



El Paso County - Recount sought in District 78 race



Galveston County - New voting system, same problems (Hart eSlate and eScan)


Hidalgo County - Garcia Won't Concede Election, Questions Many Ballots (ES&S iVotronic)


Hidalgo County - Elections administrator sends complaints to state office


Hidalgo County - Salinas earns majority over Garcia with all precincts in (County found votes on unused machines) (ES&S iVotronic)


Jefferson County - County to Recount Votes Monday Afternoon (ES&S will be paying for this recount)

Jefferson County - Jefferson County election recount (ES&S iVotronic)

Jefferson County - Election officials try to work out bugs (ES&S)



Jefferson County - Voting woes mar debut of electronic ballots (ES&S iVotronic)

Jefferson County - Confusion mars new voting process



Jefferson County - Jefferson County recounts votes; same winners, different numbers



Jefferson County - Highest turnout in years meets technical glitches (ES&S iVotronic)



Potter and Randall Counties - Electronic voting goes smoothly - not tallying (Potter – ES&S iVotronic Randall – Hart eSlate)

Potter County - Hairy Potter elections (ES&S)

Robertson County - Robertson County vote tallies delayed (ES&S)

Robertson County - Robertson County says glitches delayed results (ES&S)




Starr County - County candidates seek recount

Tarrant County - Vote spike blamed on program snafu (Hart InterCivic) (100,000 votes added to the total due to programming error)


Tom Green County - Computer problems delay election returns (Hart eScan)

Tom Green County - Election official: Paper ballots will stay despite delays

Webb County - Cuellar defeats Rodriguez in congressional grudge match (Counting problems

– ES&S)



Webb County - Election uproar; Webb County officials say there were plenty of red flags



Webb and Bexar County - ‘Glitches' get blame in Webb (ES&S)



Webb and Bexar Counties - Editorial: E-voting continues to present problems (ES&S

Williamson County - Ballot counting runs into lags in Williamson County (ES&S iVotronic)

TX: Most voters give the system a thumbs up (It's apparent that where voters are given a choice between e-voting and paper they go to the paper)