Vo Hearing: Abridged Transcript of Final Says

[gmoses]

Master of Inquiry Will Hartnett (R-Dallas): Where do we stand on evidence that could be categorized as evidence of fraud or evidence of non-fraud?

Andy Taylor, Attorney for the Challenger: One area that has come out as troubling in the past few days is there seems to be some pattern involving the registration of voters without their consent or knowledge or approval in House Dist. 137 (NOT Vo's District) for whatever purpose I know not. But we've seen that over and over and over again as we've gone through these pieces of paper. So, one possible area of fraud that the local District Attorney in Harris County may wish to consider is just exactly what was going on in those instances. That's number one.

Hartnett: And that's about four or five votes?

Taylor: I think so.

Hartnett: OK?

More of the final minutes at:

http://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=156

[PDittie]

1. Heflin's lawyers face hurdles in challenges

Lawyers arguing a veteran Houston state representative's challenge of his election defeat will have to meet a high standard to get any votes thrown out, a lawmaker investigating the contest said Friday.

Rep. Will Hartnett, appointed "master of discovery" to gather information for a House committee, and lawyers for both sides, worked until mid-evening Friday to conclude a two-day hearing on Republican Talmadge Heflin's challenge of his 33-vote defeat by Democrat Hubert Vo.

Hartnett said he will only agree to remove votes in which lawyers can prove voters were ineligible, voted in the Heflin-Vo race and will testify for whom they voted. Hartnett said the chairman of the nine-member Select Committee on Election Contest agreed to the standard of proof.

*snip*

Hartnett, R-Dallas, ruled as irrelevant testimony by a Republican pollster (Michael Baselice) who used calculations to project Heflin's margin of victory.

*snip*

Heflin's lawyers said he would win by five votes, based on their analysis of 91 ballots cast by allegedly ineligible voters who have been willing to reveal their votes. Baselice used a mathematical analysis, known as extrapolation, to determine that Heflin's margin of votes would increase when applied to the remaining 250 potentially illegal ballots that were cast and counted. "It's a projection of a known quantity," Baselice said. "It gives us an idea about how these may end up."

Under cross-examination, Baselice acknowledged that what he did was "nothing more than middle school math." He also said that he knew nothing about the votes, other than the percentage breakdown Heflin's lawyers gave him.

*snip*

Based on the indications Hartnett has given during the case-by-case examination of voters, (Vo attornet Larry) Veselka's tally has Vo winning by about 15 votes.

Hartnett is expected to issue a report to the select committee next week. It will include his conclusions about the correct vote tally in the race.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3014546

[sonias]

2. Thanks for the link GMoses

I missed the hearings due to work, but I've been getting good reports like this one. I don't know what we would do without the Internet these days.

I heard this weekend from a Vo staffer that it looks really good for Vo. Just doesn't look like Heflin and Taylor have made enough of a case for overturning the election. And it would look really stupid to call a special election that most believe Vo would win again. I think H/T are on to plan b, and how to save face.

The Daily Texan had a story as well on the front page on Friday.
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2005/01/28/TopStories/Contested.District.149.Hearing.Begins-844762.shtmlContested District 149 hearing begins
The task ended with no clear winner. The contest is scheduled to be considered by a joint subcommittee appointed by Speaker of the House Tom Craddick. The committee will make the final decision. The bipartisan commission can decide to either overturn the election, giving the seat to Heflin; let the results stand; or declare the election void and order Gov. Rick Perry to mandate another election.

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Andy Taylor is scum.

And for those of us in Austin Hubert Vo is the guest speaker at the Democracy for Texas Meetup on Wednesday at 7:00 at Scholz’s.

Sonia