Nine more mail-in ballots in the Republican primary came in to the Orange County Elections Administration Wednesday, but none of the nine were from Precinct 2 boxes, where four votes separated two candidates.
Former Orange City Councilor Theresa Adams Beauchamp leads with 1,038 votes compared to 1,034 for incumbent Barry Burton.
Elections Administrator Tina Barrow said the Texas Legislature passed a new law last year that went into effect in December concerning mail-in ballots. The new law requires mail-in ballots received by 5 p.m. on the day after an election be counted.
Burton has told KOGT he will ask for a recount on Thursday but doesn’t know when it will happen.
Burton will be responsible for the cost of the recount that includes payment for four election officials to tally the paper ballots one-by-one. There’s a precinct charge and other possible charges. Each candidate in the recount race chooses a representative to be in the room during the recount. If the recount results in a reversal, Burton would not be charged.
After the recount the winner will face another former Orange City Council member, Deborah Mitchell in the General Election in November. Mitchell ran unopposed as a Democrat.
Another contested race in November will be Democrat Gail Shaw Barnett, running against Republican Herschel Stagner for Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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