SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County Republican Chair Cynthia Brehm called for officials to throw out the results of last week's primary election at a press conference on Sunday.
This comes after Bexar County Elections officials admitted to three system crashes that occurred on election night, causing a significant delay in the reporting of vote totals.
"There are enough inconsistencies to cause concern with the election process here in Bexar County," said Brehm. "We didn’t have one glitch, we had three glitches."
Brehm said that she had been told by elections administrator Jackie Callanen that glitches open up the window for hacking. No officials have offered evidence that hacking had taken place, but they called for a transparent investigation.
Brehm demanded a forensic analysis of the systems that failed, and if not that, a recount. Then, she took it a step further.
"If that’s not done, we ask you throw out the entire election," Brehm said. "Let's throw out the election, how many are with me?"
Supporters began chanting "throw it out", and Brehm indicated that this is the result party officials are hoping for while casting doubt on the entire election.
"We're asked to trust in the flawed system?" Brehm said. "We cannot, so we're asking for them to throw out the entire election, that's what we want."
Brehm added that taxpayers have already paid for the election, and candidates should not be asked to pay for the recount. She also voiced suspicion about the timing of these problems, saying that there were no problems with this new technology during voting for the constitutional amendment in November of 2019.
"On election day, it fails?" Brehm said. "I don’t believe it."
Callanen said earlier in the week that turnout on Tuesday set a primary record for Bexar County with over 250,000 votes, and said that officials believe the high turnout could have contributed to the issues.
Brehm also asked why it took so long to release the early vote numbers. Earlier in the week, Callanen said that the three aforementioned glitches occurred when she hit the button to release the early vote.
Brehm and others noted the presence and support of candidates from across the aisle.
"This is not about politics or parties," Brehm said. "It's about the people, it's about the voters, it's about our democracy."
