A state district judge upheld the results of a Democratic primary in Cameron County, but added that a number of votes should not be counted because of voter fraud in the contest's mail-in ballots.

District Judge Rudy Delgado of Hidalgo County said that Ernie L. Hernandez Jr. was the winner of the primary for Cameron County commissioner, despite the protests of rival Ruben R.Peña, who alleged voter fraud via mail-in ballot handed the victory to his opponent.

The Brownsville Herald newspaper reports on a hearing Wednesday:

"Delgado said that his review of the transcript of the June 2 proceedings showed that some votes 'shouldn’t be counted' because the Texas Election Code provides that no one, other than a relative, can take a voter’s mail-in ballot. 'There are a number of those,' Delgado said."

Peña said in the article that the ruling gives politiqueras "free reign," and vowed to keep the heat on to clean up the voting process.

Contact Steve Miller at stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org or 832-303-9420. Photo by flickr user Theresa Thompson, used via a Creative Commons license.