In a replay of events from November 2022, another Republican judicial candidate, Tami Pierce, found herself in the Harris County courtroom in downtown Houston trying to convince the judge to order a new election.
Pierce, among 20 GOP candidates, challenged the 2022 midterm election results, arguing a ballot paper shortage on Election Day affected the final results.
Pierce is the last of the cases to go before the judge, and according to the Houston Chronicle, she will present a similar set of facts to the same judge who ruled in the previous cases that there was no evidence to justify a new election. But Pierce’s case may be different, as she had the smallest margin of defeat, losing the 180th District Court race to incumbent Democrat Judge DaSean Jones by just 449 votes out of more than 1 million cast.
Last November, Judge David Peeples, a visiting judge from Bexas County who presided over the group of lawsuits, first ruled against ordering a new election in the 189th District Court race, where Democrat Judge Tamika Craft won by 2,743 votes over GOP candidate Erin Lunceford.
Peeples said that he found “many mistakes and violations of the Election Code,” but that there were not enough votes in doubts to justify a new election. He estimated that a total of 2,891 votes were affected by the paper shortage and other problems alleged by the GOP legal team. However, he said that many of the affected voters would have skipped the 189th judicial race on the ballot, and that a significant part of that people would have voted for Craft.
Lunceford’s case is currently on appeal, while Peoples upheld the results in 15 other cases and three other candidates dropped their lawsuits.
While Lunceford’s trial featured extensive witness testimony, Pierce’s case involves three witnesses: business consultant Steve Carlin, attorney Paul Simpson, and Pierce herself. Carlin, overseeing the GOP’s analysis, testified about flagged votes. Pierce, also first assistant district attorney in Polk County, meticulously reviewed voter records, detailing why certain votes should be discounted.
The trial’s conclusion, possibly by Tuesday, awaits further testimony from Jones’ attorney, Oliver Brown, and Pierce’s attorney, Paul Simpson.
