Election time's not over

Wrapping up Tuesday's primary, and in the midst of preparing for May's municipal ballots, the Ector County Elections Office is nose deep in getting ready for an April 8 runoff election to boot.

"The work never stops - not this year," Elections Administrator Mitzi Scheible said. "We'll be getting ready for two elections."

In Tuesday night's primary race for the District 81 state representative, no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. In order to have won the primary outright, a candidate must get 50 percent plus one vote. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters move into a runoff - in this case challenger Tryon Lewis and incumbent Buddy West.

The runoff, which will be April 8, will effectively decide the race because there is no Democrat on the ballot in November. The winner will face Elmo Hockman, a Libertarian candidate, in November.

And that runoff will keep the elections office hopping. Most all of Ector County?s 66,894 registered voters - with the exception of the 8,266 Democrats who voted in the Tuesday primary - are eligible to vote in the District 81 runoff, whether they voted Republican or didn't vote at all.

And even more, those who aren't registered to vote, can still register by Monday and cast a ballot in the election.

And that's on the heels of a high voter-turnout primary - 8,266 Democrats and 10,632 Republicans, which is 28.25 percent of Ector County voters.

John Wilkins, Ector County Democratic Party Chair, said voter turnout for both the primary and the Democratic caucus afterward went well.

"We had overwhelming numbers at the caucuses," he said. "It was great. In my precinct, in 2004 and 2006, the max we had in the caucus was six - this year we had 80."

Scheible said things went well at the Elections Office, too.

"I was very pleased," Scheible said of her first election as head administrator, adding that she learned some things Tuesday night to streamline future elections.

This year, the Elections Office was required to have 68 bilingual poll workers, a number Scheible topped by six. That number is required by the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2005, the Department of Justice filed and quickly settled a lawsuit accusing Ector County of failing to comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Specifically, the suit claimed too few bilingual poll workers had been posted in the November 2004 general election. Ector County fielded 21.

This year, even though the Department of Justice didn't show up to monitor elections, Scheible was prepared.

"I think they went to the bigger counties since it was a big heated election," she said. "We didn't see or hear from them, and I was really expecting to."

Overall, Scheible said things went smoothly, and she's all set for the runoff.

"We're ready to start working on the next one," she said.

Meanwhile, West and Lewis are preparing their runoff campaigns.

West said he plans to take a more forceful approach to campaigning for the runoff.

"We?ll have to be a little bit more aggressive on our issues," he said. "We'll have to show my voting record and the things I've accomplished."

Lewis said he plans to keep hitting the pavement in his campaigning.

"Pretty much what we?ve been doing and more of it," Lewis said. "We've got a chance to visit with more people and listen to more people."

Randy Rives and Jesse Gore, two other challengers in the District 81 race, were defeated Tuesday night. Rives said he's not certain whether or not he'll endorse a candidate in the runoff.

"I don't think in my position (I should)," he said Tuesday. "I'll vote, but I don't think it's right (to endorse). We haven't decided on an endorsement - we've been so busy with what we've been doing."

Gore said Tuesday he would throw his endorsement behind West in the April 8 runoff.

"I will endorse Buddy," he said. "I certainly will."

WANT TO VOTE? >> Monday: Last day to register to vote in the runoff.
>> March 31: First day of early voting in primary runoff.
>> April 4: Last day of early voting in primary.
>> April 8: Primary runoff election. FACT FILE>> Seat: District 81 state representative.
>> Term: Two years.
>> Annual salary: $7,200.
>> Per diem allowance: $17,920.
>> Candidates: Incumbent George E. "Buddy" West, and challenger Tryon Lewis.