Wood wins by 5 votes in recount reversal

Carlos Cascos stood his ground Sunday, disputing reports from Democratic Party officials that a review of the recount of Nov. 2 election returns showed him losing to John Wood by five votes for county judge instead of winning by 50 votes as the Cameron County Elections Department had reported Saturday night.

“I look forward to continuing my work for the people of Cameron County as their county judge,” Cascos, the Republican incumbent, wrote in a press release issued at noon Sunday.

Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, word began to spread that a review of tally sheets at the recount — a recount requested by Wood — had turned in Wood’s favor by five votes from the results that Cameron County Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz had announced at about 8 p.m. Saturday. At that time, Ortiz declared Cascos the winner by 50 votes.

Earlier Sunday, Wood, a Democrat and the sitting Cameron County Precinct 2 commissioner, told The Brownsville Herald, “I’m not going to make any comment. Roger Ortiz said he would be contacting the Texas Secretary of State’s Office so he can make a formal announcement.”

Ortiz did not have the paperwork with him when the Herald reached him and could not confirm the totals, but he noted that they showed Wood ahead of Cascos.

He said that he does not certify election results and that he already has contacted the Secretary of State’s office for direction, which he expects to receive today.

“All I can tell you is that the only thing that matters is the integrity of the election — whichever way it goes,” Ortiz said when asked how he feels about the turn in events.

He said that both candidates conveyed this to him, also.

Ortiz, who has been at the helm of the election office since 2002, said this was the first time such a mistake had happened.

According to county Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa and Vice-Chairman and Treasurer Jared Hockema, an uncounted tally sheet in the recount turned the tide in Wood’s favor by five votes.

“That is what happened,” Hinojosa said.

Before the recount, the votes totaled 20,629 for Cascos and 20,552 for Wood. The recount results Saturday night were 20,392 votes for Cascos and 20,342 for Wood.

After Ortiz released the results Saturday, Hinojosa said that Hockema soon realized that the number of votes counted Saturday was more than 400 fewer than the number counted Nov. 2.

“I was very doubtful. I couldn’t understand. I couldn’t believe it,” Hinojosa said of his reaction when Hockema advised him of this discrepancy close to 3 a.m. Hinojosa said he had been mourning election returns at a friend’s birthday party when he received Hockema’s call.

“This raised a lot of questions,” he said of the discrepancy, noting that the number of votes usually increases rather than decreases during a recount. Ortiz was contacted, and his staff also had started to notice the difference, Hinojosa said.

According to Hinojosa, a review of tally sheets showed that Ortiz had missed one tally sheet when adding them up after the recount. The tally sheet was one of two such sheets from Precinct 54 at Burns Elementary School in Brownsville that had been attached with a paper clip.

Due to the large number of votes at this precinct, the votes were counted by two separate teams, and thus the two tally sheets.

But when Ortiz tabulated the results, he counted only one of the sheets and missed the one under it, according to Hinojosa.

“In all fairness to him, he had about 30 people hovering over him when he was tallying the sheets (at the end of the recount),” Hinojosa said of Ortiz.

Herald sources said that the revision early Sunday leaves Cascos with 20,571 votes and Wood with 20,576.

Hinojosa said that Ortiz is trying to figure out what he is supposed to do.

“But what is there to do?” Hinojosa said, noting that the final vote is what is canvassed. “The final vote is what it is. There can only be one recount. That’s it,” the party chairman said. “We’re elated.”

But Cascos’ press statement indicated that for him this is not over.

Cascos wrote that the “official statement” that Ortiz issued to him and Wood Saturday night “certified” that he won by 50 votes over Wood.

“Mr. Wood received the certification and called to congratulate me on my victory,” Cascos wrote.

“We are pleased that all legitimate votes for this race were counted and certified,” the judge added.

Cascos did not return telephone calls from The Herald on Sunday.

Hinojosa said that what Ortiz issued Saturday night had been a tally sheet and not any type of certification.

“That’s bogus. There was no certification. That is absolutely misleading,” he said.

Hinojosa said that Cascos and others had met with Ortiz at about 4 a.m. Sunday, and Ortiz told them of the mishap and informed them of the vote totals.

Hinojosa said that before the Saturday night report, Wood told him that he would accept the recount results. “They told him he lost and that is why he called Carlos,” Hinojosa said.

County Republican Party Chairman Frank Morris declined to comment about the developments, noting that, “nothing has been settled yet.”

Democratic Precinct 2 Commissioner-elect Ernie Hernandez extended his congratulations to Wood early Sunday and also had four words: “What a screw-up.”