Judge throws out more than 80 votes, reverses election results in Hidalgo County

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A judge reversed the results of an election in Hidalgo County on Wednesday after concluding that more than 80 voters received improper assistance.

State District Judge Jose Manuel Bañales ruled that Ramon Segovia, a businessman from western Hidalgo County, won the Democratic Party runoff for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Place 1.

“This wasn’t about me winning this spot,” Segovia said. “It was about the integrity of elections.”

Segovia and former Palmview City Councilman Joel Garcia ran against Justice of the Peace Sonia Treviño, a local chiropractor, in the Democratic Party primary.

Nearly 13,000 people voted.

About 49.6% supported Treviño, according to results published by the Hidalgo County Elections Department. Another 25.5% voted for Segovia. The remaining 24.9% backed Garcia.

While she received more votes than any other candidate, Treviño had fallen just short of a majority.

Segovia and Treviño headed to a runoff in May.

Treviño received 4,233 votes, according to results published by Hidalgo County. Segovia received 4,202.

After two hard-fought elections, Treviño had eked out a 31-vote victory.

Segovia filed a lawsuit, claiming that hundreds of voters had received improper assistance.

Under state law, only people with a “physical disability that renders the voter unable to write or see” and people who cannot read the ballot ...