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Howard-Neil House Hearing Underway

The first day of hearings in the election dispute between Donna Howard (left) and Dan Neil is underway at the Capitol.
Image courtesy of the Texas Tribune
The first day of hearings in the election dispute between Donna Howard (left) and Dan Neil is underway at the Capitol.

Testimony is underway before a Special Master of Discovery and members of a House select committee to determine a winner in last November's House District 48 election.

Democratic incumbent Donna Howard won the election by 12 votes, following a recount.  But Republican challenger Dan Neil claims that a handful of votes were cast by people not eligible to vote in the Travis County house district.

State Rep. Will Hartnett (R-Dallas) is presiding over the hearing.  He was appointed as Special Master by House Speaker Joe Straus last month, serving as chief factfinder in the dispute.  He will issue a report to the House Select Committee on Election Contest, recommending whether Ms. Howard or Mr. Neil should represent House District 48.

Ian Crawford joined KUT as News Editor in 2008, after spending over four years as a reporter/anchor at KLBJ Radio in Austin. He began his broadcasting career while still in high school in Southern Oregon. During high school and college at the University of Oregon, he worked at times as a reporter, news anchor, sports play-by-play reporter, music host and commercial producer before moving to Texas in 2003.
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