Amidst the various high-profile races, voters have to consider on election day, one race in Dallas County has already marked itself as unique for a number of reasons.
Residents of Dallas County who will choose the judge for the 301st Judicial District will find that there are no candidates on the ballot.
In what Dallas County elections administrator Michael Scarpello called “highly unusual,” all the declared candidates are running as write-ins, meaning that voters will physically have to write their preferred person’s name in order for it to count.
Part of the reason no candidates appear on the ballot is because the incumbent judge, Mary Brown, failed to file the proper documents before the deadline in order to be included on the ballot.
Brown blamed her campaign for the issue, explaining that her “application was challenged and after review was found to be defective in that it didn’t contain 250 verifiable signatures on the necessary petitions.”
“I did not collect the signatures myself,” she continued, “but instead used the services of a political consultant … I’m deeply disturbed by what my review of the petitions reveals.”
This mistake opened the door for other candidates to throw their hats into the ring. Namely, Brown will face off against Earl Jackson, who is also running as a write-in candidate.
Judge Brown has been steeped in controversy recently regarding her role in the contentious custody battle over the then-8-year-old child of Jeff Younger and Anne Georgulas, as reported by The Dallas Express.
In that case, the father, Younger, worked to prevent the mother, Georgulas, from allowing the child to “transition genders.” The mother claimed that the 8-year-old wanted to “identify as a girl”, while the father suggested that the mother was intentionally “tampering with the sexual identity of a vulnerable boy.”
Judge Brown, however, awarded full custody to Georgulas, with the caveat that Jeff Younger could have a say over any medical procedures relating to sex-altering operations. However, the judge also lifted restrictions requiring the mother to live in Texas with the kids, opening the door for her to take the child to California where “gender transitions” are welcome
Brown’s judgment brought significant opposition from activist groups such as Protect Texas Kids, who recently organized a protest outside of Brown’s house late last month.
One of the protest attendees, Kai Schwemmer, suggested that Judge Brown’s decision was allowing Georgulas “to mutilate her son [and] to leave the state of Texas, fleeing the law in Texas which would stop her from doing so. This issue will affect every single parent and child in every single state unless something is done about it right here and right now by voting Judge Mary Brown out of office.”
On Tuesday, voters will be able to refer to a list of write-in candidates posted inside each booth as required by Texas law. The Dallas County Elections Department explained that “a list of all declared write-in candidates is included in mail ballot materials sent to voters, and will be posted in each voting station during early voting and on Election Day.”