It’s an election that divided voters in the community and seemingly won’t end. The $569 million bond proposal put forth by the Midland Independent School District board bounced back and forth in the headlines from narrowly passing to failing, with the final results showing it narrowly failed by 25 votes.
The election saw some tense exchanges between the two sides of the proposal. Opponents of the bond have been advocating for a “Better Bond for Midland,” hence the name they dubbed for their opposition political action committee. Some allege that school leadership and the bond supporters have been unwilling to listen to their concerns, focusing instead on pushing the bond through with a well-funded support PAC.
Meanwhile, representatives of “We Choose Our Future,” the organization formed in support of the bond, issued a statement Monday announcing their decision to trigger the recount:
“We Choose Our Future, SPAC has elected to file for a recount on the Midland ISD School Bond election. It is standard practice to request a recount for any election with so few ballots determining the outcome. In several states, this 25-vote difference (0.1% of all votes cast) would have triggered an automatic recount. We owe it to the voters, and our supporters, to ensure an accurate vote count. We look forward to a transparent and open process.”
Officials will now be required to order a recount process to begin in the next week. With the margins so close, Midland residents will now have to wait to see if the final totals continue to hold.
