SAN ANTONIO – A judge on Friday denied an emergency request in a lawsuit challenging a Bexar County judicial candidate’s residency, citing the fact that early voting ballots have already been mailed.
Judge Nicole Garza said the timing of the request weighed heavily in her decision. With voting already underway, she declined to grant emergency relief.
However, Garza described the evidence presented in court as “compelling” and ordered the case to move forward to a full injunction hearing, keeping the dispute at the center of a lawsuit filed by incumbent Judge Carlo Key.
Garza also clarified that the emergency request before the court did not seek to immediately remove Audrey Martinez from the primary ballot. Instead, the request asked that Martinez be excluded from the general election ballot and that she not be declared the Democratic Party nominee if she prevails in the primary, among other requests.
Key, a Democrat who is seeking reelection as judge of Bexar County Court at Law No. 14, filed the lawsuit challenging Martinez’s eligibility. He also sued the Bexar County Democratic Party chair in connection with the ballot dispute.
The lawsuit centers on whether Martinez meets residency requirements to run for the Bexar County bench. That issue was the subject of hours of testimony this week.
Under Texas Election Code Section 172.058, if a candidate is declared ineligible after the regular filing deadline, the candidate’s name must still appear on the primary ballot, and votes cast for that candidate must be counted and entered on the official election returns.
If an ineligible candidate receives enough votes to win the nomination, the appropriate party executive committee may then select a replacement nominee and certify that person’s name for placement on the general election ballot.
One of the most significant witnesses was Martinez’s former boss, Audrey Gossett Louis, the 81st Judicial District Attorney. Louis testified that Martinez lived in Wilson County and said she warned Martinez that residency requirements would affect her ability to run for office in Bexar County.
“I told her that she knew she lived in Wilson County, I knew she lived in Wilson County, and the entire office knew she lived in Wilson County,” Louis testified. When asked why it mattered, Louis said, “While she may win residency in the civil case, she was not going to continue working in my office.”
Martinez disputes that claim and has pointed to documents, including a voter registration card and other records showing a Bexar County address where she says she lives.
After the ruling, Key said he had hoped for a quicker resolution with the primary election approaching.
“The elections are coming up. I wanted things resolved so we could move forward,” Key said. “I respect the judge’s decision. I don’t envy the position she was in.”
Miguel Ortiz, one of Martinez’s attorneys, said the case will now be referred to Judge Sid Harle, the administrative judge for the district, to handle the next phase of the proceedings.
A full injunction hearing is expected to be scheduled this week, very quickly, since the primary election draws near.