File this under strange occurrences in Fort Bend County politics: The third-place vote-getter in the Democratic primary for Precinct 4 commissioner is now on the ballot for a May 26 runoff after a judge ruled the No. 1 candidate was ineligible.
Attorney Nicole Roberts, who came in third in the March 3 Democratic primary, alleged in a lawsuit that candidates Brittanye Morris, a former Harris County district judge, and Nabil Shike, a former constable, used the same address on their filing paperwork and neither of them lives there.
Furthermore, Roberts says in her lawsuit, the Ashford Hollow address used by Morris and Shike on their filing paperwork isn’t even in Precinct 4; it’s in Precinct 3. According to court documents, Najma Aijaz lives in the home with two family members and is registered to vote there.
Roberts filed the lawsuit on March 10 and requested a temporary restraining order, which would have halted canvassing votes from the Democratic primary until the residency issue was resolved. Fort Bend County District Judge Maggie Jaramillo disqualified herself from the matter, so a visiting judge, Susan Brown, came from Harris County to preside over a one-day trial last Thursday.
Whether or not Morris actually lives in Precinct 4 or at the address she used on her filing paperwork ended up not mattering. Judge Brown ruled that Morris was ineligible to be on the ballot because she wasn’t registered to vote in Fort Bend County at the time she filed, a requirement for running for office there.
Morris didn’t show up to the trial and neither did Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Cantu, who is named as a defendant and tried to have the matter dismissed. Roberts alleges that Cantu should have properly vetted the paperwork of everyone who filed to run in the race.
The runoff ballots haven’t been printed yet, but when they are, Roberts’ name will appear in the Democratic primary along with the No. 2 vote getter, April Jones. Morris led the March primary with 18.84 percent of the vote. Jones got 17.63 percent and Roberts got 16.4 percent. Shike, who came in fifth with 14 percent, did not respond to requests for comment on the allegation that he also used a false address.
Roberts said she still believes Morris violated the residency requirement but it was easier to prove the voter registration issue and that was enough to declare Morris ineligible.
“Three thousand people stood in line and voted for Brittanye, and their votes will not count,” Roberts said. “That is not OK. This lawsuit was not against Brittanye, because Brittanye cannot provide me any relief. The only entity or individual that could provide me the equitable relief I was seeking is the Fort Bend County Democratic Party and its chair, because those are the folks who certified the ballot.”
Cantu said in a text message last Friday — after Brown’s order was issued — that she could not comment on active litigation, even to explain the process by which candidates are certified for the primary ballot.
Prior to the trial, Morris said the claims in Roberts’ lawsuit were meritless.
“Recent residency allegations raised by a candidate who did not qualify for the runoff are entirely unfounded,” Morris said in an emailed statement on March 15. “These claims appear to be the product of disappointment rather than fact and demonstrate a disregard for the integrity of the electoral process.”
Morris’ written statement continues: “Our democracy is built upon the will of the people, and on March 3, the voters of Precinct 4 made that will abundantly clear. [I] received the highest number of votes among seven candidates, earning first place and advancing to the runoff election.”
“Fort Bend County Democratic Party Chair, Dr. Jennifer Cantu, has exemplified professionalism and fairness since taking office,” the statement reads. “Any suggestion that she failed to fulfill her duties is baseless. Dr. Cantu has ensured that all election codes and procedures were lawfully and transparently followed. It is unfortunate that the Democratic Party now faces unnecessary legal costs due to frivolous actions by a losing candidate.”
Morris did not respond to requests for comment after Judge Brown’s ruling last week but issued a statement on social media saying she was disappointed in the ruling and “confident that the rule of law will ultimately prevail.” She said the order would not be finalized for 30 days. The signed order, however, delcares Morris ineligible and rules that she must be immediately removed from the runoff ballot.
Roberts said when she filed for Precinct 4 commissioner, she showed her driver’s license and filled out an application on site, although it can be done remotely and dropped off. “It has to be notarized and you have to pay a fee,” she said. “It’s reviewed by the Fort Bend Democratic Party chair right there but it’s a cursory review. Then she does a subsequent review before she certifies it and sends it up to the secretary of state, from my understanding.”
Roberts told the Houston Press that she heard from multiple people the day after the primary election who were concerned that Morris, who until December 2024 served as a Harris County district judge, did not live in Fort Bend County.
“I did my own due diligence. What this could mean, if this were true, is that she should never have been on the ballot to begin with. Votes were stolen from Fort Bend County residents — including myself — and it’s not right,” Roberts said. “If she was in fact ineligible to be on the ballot, something needs to be done about it. Whether or not it helps me to advance is not the issue.”
The lawsuit claims that Morris has never voted in a Fort Bend County election and the address on Morris’ driver’s license lists a Houston home. “Brittanye Morris is a resident of Harris County currently,” the lawsuit states. “That is where she lays her head at night after work in her law office. Houston is her domicile.”
According to the suit, Morris attempted to change the address in her filing paperwork to a residence in Fort Bend County Precinct 4 but did so past the filing deadline.
In her email to the Press, Morris appeared to reference a rumor that Roberts is related to Dexter McCoy, the current Precinct 4 commissioner and a candidate for Fort Bend County judge.
“These seats belong to the people, not to any political family, and they are certainly not prizes to be passed down by succession,” Morris said. “We must continue to honor the true spirit of democracy by allowing voters to decide who represents them.”
McCoy, who is in a May runoff with Rachelle Carter for the judge’s seat, endorsed Roberts earlier this year. Roberts says she’s not related to McCoy and met him at a town hall meeting in her neighborhood a couple of years ago. He later appointed her to the county’s redistricting oversight committee.
Roberts acknowledged that she sounds like someone whose feelings were hurt because she came in third.
“People may think that,” she said. “This is not about me winning or me being disappointed. I’m a mom of twin girls who are 11 years old. I talk to them constantly about what it means to win and how to handle a loss. I’m a big girl. If I didn’t win the race, it’s OK. I have a job. But if you lost because someone cheated, then that’s a whole different ball game.”
Roberts didn’t ask for anyone to be punished or sanctioned; she says she simply wanted the process to be fair and equitable.
“What I asked for in the filing is equitable relief,” she said. “The primary has already taken place. Voters have already expressed their interest in the candidate they want to advance. In the event that those events are considered void, the equitable thing would be to add the third top vote-getter into the runoff, which would be me.”
“This is about ensuring everyone is accountable and plays by the same rules,” she added. “Fort Bend County residents deserve elections they can trust. Our community has seen too many scandals and too many questions about transparency in recent years. If we want people to believe in their government again, we have to start by demanding that everyone plays by the same rules.”
A Republican runoff for Precinct 4 commissioner is also set for May 26, between Ken Mathews and Adam Schoof.
