Does a county commissioner live in his precinct?
That’s the question Nolanville resident Marianne Miller, a Democratic challenger to Bell County Precinct 1 Commissioner Russell Schneider of Temple, is raising after noticing what she believes to be an error in the precinct the incumbent has served. Miller, who will face Schneider in the November general election, has filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s website to have his name removed from the ballot.
Schneider, a Republican who has represented Precinct 1 on the Commissioners Court since 2016, said he lives in his precinct and has been qualified as a candidate for a potential third term in the November election by the county attorney and the Bell County Republican Party chair.
“I’m not accusing anyone of anything,” Miller said in a phone interview Friday. “So, how does a person who lives in (Precinct) 3 get into (Precinct) 1? I just don’t understand.”
The crux of the matter is that according to Bell County’s online maps that show commissioner precincts, when the address Schneider has put on his filing paperwork, 2918 Riverside Trail in Temple, is entered into the system, the system puts the geographical marker in Precinct 3.
The system then shows that the Bell County commissioner who would represent the resident living at that address as Bill Schumann, Schneider’s Republican colleague on the Commissioners’ Court, who is not seeking reelection this year.
When looking at satellite maps of the area, it appears the precinct line that separates Precinct 1 and Precinct 3 cuts through Schneider’s property, though the physical structure of the main home on the property is in Precinct 3, which is what Miller argues is the address.
“Well, your address is where you live — your residence,” Miller said Friday.
Schneider said his home address has been the same for years — and he was elected without issue to two terms on the Commissioners Court.
“Nothing has changed,” Schneider said. “I’ve lived there for 20 plus years.”
Schneider said the complaint was politically motivated and had no legal basis.
“This is a non-issue because I meet the legal requirements,” he said.
Louie Minor, the Precinct 4 commissioner who is the lone Democrat on the Commissioners Court and was the one who informed FME News Service of the alleged discrepancy, said it would not seem right for the address to be where the mailbox is because no one could reside there.
Candidate requirements
Citing an attorney general ruling from 2004 when Gov. Greg Abbott served as the state’s top attorney, Minor said that for purposes of voter registration, since candidates must be registered voters, the registration is based on that person’s “domicile,” or the place they intend to come back to if they are gone for a short amount of time.
However, the Texas Election Code says a candidate’s home address is the legal requirement. Candidates are required to file sworn statements about their qualifications, including their home address, which state law says is based on where a candidate receives mail.
Section 141.031 of the Election Code says “a candidate’s residence address or, if the residence has no address, (is) the address at which the candidate receives mail and a concise description of the location of the candidate’s residence” is required.
Furthermore, the Election Code addresses candidates that live on properties that cross territorial lines.
Section 11.001 of the Election Code says “for a person who resides on property located in more than one territory … the person shall choose in which territory the residence of the person is located.”
The Election Code also requires candidates to list “the length of their continuous residence in the state and territory for which office is sought.”
Commissioner’s land
Schneider’s property — a multi-acre ranch with an impressive entrance on Riverside Trail — is split up between three parcels of land in Bell County, according to the Bell County Appraisal District. Schneider’s property is comprised of Property IDs 27743, 316595 and 103607.
The land is located in a portion of unincorporated Bell County that was surrounded by the city of Temple in 1997 when 7.6 miles to the west was annexed into the city, Temple spokeswoman Charlese Butler said. The area — known to municipal and county officials as “the doughnut hole” — is a mostly agricultural and residential neighborhood with few public streets and is located within Temple’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
According to the Bell County Appraisal District, there are two structures in Property ID 27743, which is within the Precinct 1 boundary. One is a “farm and ranch” building that is a 3,240-square-foot residence and the other is a “farm and ranch” building that is a 4,476-square-foot barn.
The structure located in Property ID 316595, which is in the Precinct 3 boundary, is a 5,438-square-foot residence, according to the Bell County Appraisal District.
The difference between the residential/commercial structures of Property ID 27743 and the residential structure of Property ID 316595, according to the Bell County Appraisal District, is that Schneider claims the latter as his “homestead” for purposes of receiving the state’s homestead exemption for property tax relief.
The Texas Comptroller’s Office defines a residence homestead as: “A residence homestead can be a separate structure, condominium or a manufactured home located on owned or leased land, as long as the individual living in the home owns it. A residence homestead can include up to 20 acres, if the land is owned by the homeowner and used for a purpose related to the residential use of the homestead.”
Property ID 316595 is 6.4 acres, appraisal district records show.
Online map
Having asked the county for a response, James Stafford, the county’s spokesman, said via email twice that the online maps are solely for “reference.”
“The map you reference is intended for informational purposes only. It does not have anything to do with the way in which voters are registered or issued ballots. A voter’s precinct is assigned based on their residence address,” Stafford has said.
Miller said she understands the maps should match what are on a resident’s voter registration card.
“With (Schneider’s) address, when you type in the address, the 2918 Riverside Trail … on the map it just comes up as 3 — Precinct 3,” Miller said. “I will say a couple of things. One is, it’s unfortunate that it was caught by doing research on a candidate — that’s unfortunate.
“Now, we’re in this battle of is he qualified to be on the ballot — because you have to live in the precinct for six months … so that all comes into question.”
Schneider said the issue is moot because his legal address on Riverside Trail is within Precinct 1. Although his property extends north from Riverside Trail, the only public street near his home is Old Waco Road, a north-south artery that has single-family homes with large acreage that border his property. Appraisal records show Schneider also owns other properties along Riverside Trail, many of which are single-family homes.
“I’ve been in the same precinct for 20 years,” he said.
Miller said the online map raises questions.
“The second thing is, even if he wasn’t a candidate, the question (that) still remains is that why doesn’t it match and how many other voters are in this same situation and we don’t know about it?”
Minor said he already has found several such properties.
“If they say that his address is (based) off the road and not where his house is, then we have to go into the county because I’ve already started looking and there’s tons of houses where the house is in a different precinct but the mailbox and the street entrance is in a different precinct,” Minor said in a phone interview on Jan. 24. “And these are subdivisions; these are not like his with multiple acres.”
Minor did not mince words when he said that afternoon, “I think they’re creating a problem trying to help him out.”
Minor also said that whether Schneider is allowed to remain on the ballot, he knows what the map is showing.
“Say everything is true and correct of what they’re saying, like ‘OK, because the front of his property is in Precinct 1, then he gets to register in Precinct 1,’ he still technically lives in Precinct 3 — his house is in Precinct 3,” Minor said.
