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Local News

Precinct holds caucus in parking lot; campaigns accuse each other of wrong-doing

10:54 PM CST on Tuesday, March 4, 2008

By KEVIN PETERS
KVUE News

The Texas Democratic primary decides the fate of 124 delegates from the state.

But after the polls closed, caucuses began all across Texas Tuesday night.

They will decide the fate of another 67 delegates -- but there were allegations that the rules were being broken before the caucuses even started.

At the Senior Activity Center at 29th Street and Lamar Boulevard, there were still a number of people waiting to sign the caucus list at 10 p.m.

Precinct chairs said it was record turnout.

This center serves two precincts -- covering a majority of west campus.

The signing actually took place in the parking lot -- because the building is just too small to hold the big lines.

It's a far different scene than just two years ago.

"in 2006 when we had our caucuses, we had 3 people show up," said precinct chair K.T. Mussellman.

That's when there was little wait for the actual caucus to begin -- but on this night several hundred stood outside for more than hour.

Some even questioned if the wait was worth it.

"No, I’m not going to leave. I thought about it because I’m here by myself but I ran into friends so I’m going to wait it out," said Ryan Yezak.

No one could sign the actual caucus list at this precinct until after 9:00 p.m. when all the general primary voters had finally cast their votes.

That same caucus list they signed drew complaints earlier in the day from both the Obama and Clinton camps.

"We have received concerns from both campaigns," said Hector Nieto, Texas Democratic Party.

Each side apparently accused each other of breaking the rules -- signing people up before the caucus actually began.

The Democratic party responded by telling both campaigns to "play fair."

"We have responded to both campaigns with a memo outlining the guidelines and rules of the Texas Democratic Party. Now that that memo has been sent out, we expect both campaigns and their workers to abide by the rules and regulations," said Nieto.

This of course wasn't the only caucus which went well into the night.

KVUE heard of several others around town experiencing similar long lines.

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