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IRVING RECOUNT

Brad Watson reports

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IRVING - The official recount started Monday in the super close Texas House race in Irving; and hours after it did, Texas Democrats asked a federal judge to order disputed ballots counted or throw out the election all together.

The outcome of the recount may determine whether Republicans keep control of the Texas House. And once again, electronic ballot machines used by hundreds of thousands of voters in Dallas County are on trial.

The Democrats claim straight ticket votes made on machines in the Irving recount are counted differently from paper ballots, and that wasn't approved by the Justice Department. The Texas Democratic Party said they want a federal judge to order the recount in a closed off room at the elections office. They want all the ballots to be counted the same way.

“They failed to get that pre-clearance, so it's our position that every vote needs to be counted and it needs to be counted in accordance with the state law,” said Attorney Clay Jenkins, who represents the Democratic candidate.

Because of past voting discrimination, Texas remains one of the southern states that must get approval from the Justice Department for changes made in elections.

In the critical House race in Irving, Democrat Bob Romano lost by 20 votes to Republican Linda Harper-Brown.

The Democrats claim the state ordered Dallas County to tally straight ticket ballots in the recount in a way never approved by the Justice Department.

The Republicans disagree.

“The Department of Justice certainly knows how they're counted and they've approved this system for use throughout Texas and even other states," said Wade Emmert, Harper-Brown’s attorney.

On the machine, if a voter casts a straight ticket ballot and then goes down and votes for an individual candidate in that party the machine cancels all votes for the candidate. Democrats say those votes should be included since on paper ballots if there's a straight ticket vote and then an emphasis vote it's counted for the candidate, as allowed by state law.

The elections office confirmed there are some of these in contested blank ballots cast in the House race. If there were enough, they could swing the election.

No word yet how a federal court might handle the situation.

The recount could end Wednesday or Thursday.

E-mail bwatson@wfaa.com