District 1 City Council race tied
Dec 20, 2024
The race for Corpus Christi City Council District 1 is tied.Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands told KRIS 6 News that incumbent Everett Roy and challenger Billy Lerma are tied at 1916 votes.Everett and Lerma were separated by two votes following the runoff election.According to Kara Sands, at issue were over 130 mail-in ballots that were determined to be ineligible by the Nueces County Ballot Board.Voters had an opportunity to fix these ballots and the deadline was Friday at 5 pm.After 5 pm the ballot board met and counted any ballots that were determined to be "cured," at which point it was determined the candidates were tied.According to the Texas Election Code, in cases where candidates are tied following a runoff, an automatic recount is conducted.According to state law, if, following a recount, candidates remain tied the candidates would cast lots to determine the winner.Corpus Christi City Secretary Rebecca Huerta told KRIS 6 News earlier Friday that she has a call with the Secretary of State scheduled for Monday.A timeline for this recount is unknown.Huerta said in her 11 years as city secretary, she has never seen an election so close.This is a developing story. Stay with KRIS 6 News for updates.