Visiting judge Tim Womack of 307th District Court heard two days of testimony last week in the case of Kyle Barrett vs. James Strain in a lawsuit over the Republican primary of the Bowie County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 seat, in which Strain was decided the winner by less than 30 votes.
Contestee Kyle Barrett filed suit against the incumbent in March’s primary election, James Strain, citing mishandling of ballots, electioneering at one polling place, and discrepancies in ballot numbers throughout early voting and election day. Counsel for Barrett said in opening statements, that while the case reads as Barrett vs. Strain, that a suit against Strain was Barrett’s only judicial recourse in hopes of winning a new election, stating, “There is a difference in mathematical errors, and something being inherently wrong. We are here because something is wrong.”
Testimony from election judges consistently blamed judge/clerk inexperience and new technology for discrepancies in paperwork filed, incorrect paperwork, and the number of ballots turned in to Bowie County Central Count.
