Ord. 1981-1258 - canvass runoff election

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. e Hon. Mayor and City Council La Porte, Texas Page 2 4/27/81 e resul t, inasmuch as it is the voters' right to have the resul t declared. Dean v State, 88 Tex. 290, 30 SW 1047, rehearing denied; In re Burge, 24 SW 289. Only a Court, and not a canvassing board, may declare an election void. Shelor v Commissioners Court (Tex. Civ. App.) 304 SW2d 153, rehearing denied. Ci ty Council, therefore, has no legal power to invalidate the District 5 election and call another election. Under the authority of these cases, and also the recent Texas Supreme Court case of Grant v Ammerman, (Sp. Ct. 1969) 437 SW2d 547, and the case of Williamson v Kempf (Tex. Civ. App.) 574 SW2d 845, the win- ning candidate could obtain a writ of mandamus from a Harris County District Judge, ordering the La Porte Ci ty Council to canvass the votes, declare the result, issue him a Certificate of Election, and administer the oath of office to him. Under the' Texas Election Code, the sole remedy of the losing candi- date, if he chooses to do so, is to file a statutory election contest A wi th the Courts. Only a Judge can examine the conduct of the elec- W" tion, and make a determination on the legal issues raised in the election contesto Strictly speaking, there can be no statutory elec- tion contest until the election is completed, that is, until the votes are canvassed and the results declared. Maddox v Commissioners Court (Tex. Civ. App.) 222 SW2d 475. The losing candidate has thirty days from the return date of the election, within which to file his elec- tion contest. The contest is between the candidates seeking the office, and the City of La Porte is not a formal party to the election contest. An election contest in District 5 would not affect any other District. I had a telephone conference with Mr. Tom Clark, Election Administrator in the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, who is the Chief Election Officer of the State, and Mr. Mahon B. Garry, an Election Attorney in the Secretary of State's office, this morning. They each confirmed that the above is a correct statement of Texas law on this matter, and that the La Porte City Council is under a legal duty to canvass the votes and declare the winner, based on the votes cast. I have, accordingly, prepared an ordinance to that effect. ~ ~r:::~ Knox W. Askins City Attorney City of La Porte - KWA: jm