GEORGETOWN - Votes cast after 7 p.m. for the Tuesday, March 3 primary elections may not count, pending a Texas Supreme Court ruling.
Betsy Lambeth, 425th District Judge, extended the voting times at two Williamson County locations, the Georgetown Annex and Northstar Georgetown, until 10 p.m. due to long lines of almost 200 voters. Lambeth granted the extension despite objections of the Attorney General Ken Paxton.
According to officials, a new law requires a one-hour notice of a hearing to be approved by the Attorney General and Lambeth did not meet the requirement. Around 9:45 p.m., the Attorney General’s office filed a writ of mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court with the intent to overturn Lambeth’s decision.
About 30 minutes later, the Supreme Court issued an order suspending Lambeth’s ruling until a court decision could be made, which will also make any votes cast after 7 p.m. null until the court makes a ruling.
The Texas Civil Rights Project filed suit against Williamson County and its Democratic and Republican chairmen to get extensions for Georgetown Annex and Northstar Georgetown. The Annex was a polling location for both parties, while Northstar was a Democrat polling location.
Many polling locations were party specific. That's because the Williamson County Republican Party used handwritten ballots, while the Democratic Party used electronic.
More on this developing story will follow.
