You do recall the odious redistricting that occurred under Tom Delay in 2003 in the Great State of Texas. As of tonight, the 2010 redistricting may hang in the balance, decided by a mere 29 votes in Dallas, and a bevy of uncounted Provisional ballots to be reviewed Monday.
National Democrats and Bloggers Need To WAKE UP To This!!! Control of the Texas House in 2008 is crucial to positioning for the battle to come in 2010, when Texas is set to, via the Census, pick up 3 NEW US House of Representative Seats. Likely, a proper redistricting will return balance to the Texas Delegation further, allowing races that should trend Blue to actually be competitive as districts are redrawn in a fair way to represent broad samples, not the crazy way Tom Delay did.
There is hardly a mention on our blog of this situation, so let me bring you up to speed. It's being covered very well on BOR. Current state of the race:
Vote Totals % of Vote
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R) 19,830 48.73%
Bob Romano (D) 19,801 48.67%
Current Texas House Count: 76-74 after Tuesday...
This Race will literally decide the difference between bipartisanship and party line illegality.
Where we stand today:
Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said it will probably be Monday before the provisional and overseas votes are counted.
His office will begin reviewing provisional ballots before they are turned over to a board made up of Democrats and Republicans to determine their validity. The validity is decided before the ballots are unsealed, so even those deciding whether to count the votes don't know which candidate they favor.
Mr. Sherbet said races with such a high turnout rarely run so tight that the final number of accepted provisional ballots could swing the outcome.
A BOR Warning
There is another issue that is unspoken here -- the pressure that Speaker Tom Craddick may exert through the Republican Secretary of State's office. The Secretary of State could try and step in and ask for copies of ballots to help verify the process -- which would be illegal. Such a move would really just be so Republican lawyers could start investigating the voters early, to try and disqualify them.
And a Reluctant Candidate
Mr. Romano said his main concern is to ensure that every vote is counted.
"I'm not in a position to say much or do much," he said. "Things are going absolutely crazy. I want to get out of here and go deer hunting."
What National Democrats need to do:
- Raise Visibility of this Counting
- Notify the DNC to keep tabs and send lawyers on Romano's behalf
- Contact Bob Romano and tell him to FOCUS and FIGHT: RomanoForStateRep@Netscape.com
Keep an eye on this recount... We need to be sure votes are properly tallied so we can be sure to have a Texas State House with 75-75, and a BiPartisan Approach to Redistricting upcoming.
If anyone says that one race, in 2008 won't matter, winning this seat today makes holding it possible and a majority in 2010 more likely. Case in Point: Hubert Vo HD 149 (My Rep) who won by 33 votes in 2004 and smashed his opposition in 2008.
We can win this today, and a huge swing of US House Seats will be the result.