HEATH — The Texas Secretary of State’s office responded to a report by Rockwall County resident Tina Winnett regarding alleged election violations during the City of Heath general elections earlier this year by confirming that Heath City Council members Julie Zurek and Rich Krause and Heath City Secretary Stephanie Galanides did not have legal excuses to be in polling locations.

Winnett was appointed as a pollwatcher by then city council candidate Joan Ream, who was running against Zurek.

According to a sworn affidavit by Winnett, Zurek, Krause and Galanides all violated election code by entering the polling place on May 12. Winnett alleged that Zurek and Krause spoke with voters, while Galanides provided coffee for election officials.

“The criminal act does not require that the candidate actually speak (much less actively campaign) in the polling place; the crime lies in the candidate’s unexcused [sic] presence in the place where people are voting,” the Secretary of State’s Director of Elections Keith Ingram said in a letter to Winnett. “The exceptions to the application of law... do not apply here, given that there seems to be no dispute that [Zurek] was in full view of the voters and was not in the polling place to vote. Similarly, Mr. Krause and Ms. Galanides are alleged to have been present in the polling place without any legal excuses.”

According to Ingram, the Secretary of State may refer criminal complaints to the Attorney General’s office, but will refrain from doing so in this instance.

“The Texas Attorney General, in exercising its investigative and prosecutorial discretion, has adopted a policy that limited state resources will not currently be diverted to the investigation of election-related misdemeanor criminal offenses, and has asked that we refrain from referring such matters for investigation until we are instructed to do so,” Ingram said. “Therefore, we are unable to refer this matter to the Texas Attorney General for investigation or prosecution.”

According to Winnett, Ream also entered the polling location, but did so out of view of voters and on “official business with the election judge.”

Krause responded to Winnett’s accusations following the Heath City Council meeting Tuesday night.

“I think that was probably one of many frivolous accusations that are sometimes made within a city,” he said. “In that case I think I acted diligently in getting my wife and another neighbor to the voting place to vote. I think it is absolutely rational that I would be curious what the voting numbers were so to go ask the voting judges how are the numbers, how are we doing, I don’t think is any attempt to violate anyone’s election rights or manipulate an election. I did have a gentleman come up and ask me ‘Where do I vote for the baseball fields on this?’  and I just told him that was a city of Rockwall issue, not a city of Heath issue. That is the only conversation I had with any citizen other than the election judge so it is not like I was there with any intention to violate any laws or manipulate the election.”

According to Zurek, she went into the polling location to use a public restroom.

“I went inside to go the bathroom, and after living here for 23 years, you know a lot of people,” she said. “One woman spoke to me, and I told her that I needed to go outside and that she could talk with me there.”

Zurek called Winnett “crazy” and was disappointed with the allegations’ effect on the city of Heath.

“I can handle it, although it’s annoying and frustrating,” she said. “It’s sad for our city. We have an amazing city and we have one of the straightest city councils you’ll ever come across. We have nothing to hide.”

Zurek also expressed frustration with the allegations made against Galanides, who served as the city’s election administrator.

In May, Rockwall County District Attorney Kenda Culpepper said her office investigated the issue thoroughly, but there was not sufficient evidence to warrant any sort of prosecution, a decision that Ingram referred to as “legal discretion.”

Ingram dismissed allegations that Zurek’s husband tampered with Ream’s campaign signs and that the election workers gave the wrong ballot styles to voters.

“We lack sufficient evidence to judge whether the movement of the campaign signs or the polling place errors constituted criminal acts,” he said.

Winnett also submitted a formal complaint to the Rockwall Grand Jury as well as letters to Rockwall County Judge Jerry Hogan and Rockwall District Judges Brett Hall and David Rakow.