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{{Short description|1948 voting scandal involving Lyndon B. Johnson}} |
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{{cleanup rewrite|date=October 2018}} |
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The '''Box 13 scandal''' was a [[political scandal]] that occurred in [[Jim Wells County, Texas]] during the [[1948 United States Senate elections]], regarding disputed votes in a Democratic primary involving [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and [[Coke R. Stevenson|Coke Stevenson]]. |
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== Origins and investigation == |
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The '''Box 13 scandal''' occurred in [[Alice, Texas]] during the [[1948 United States Senate election in Texas|Senate election of 1948]].<ref name=wp /> [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] was on the verge of losing the election and yet six days after polls had closed, 202 additional ballots were discovered in precinct 13, which swung the election decisively in Johnson's favor. He had been in a tight race with [[Coke R. Stevenson|Coke Stevenson]] and they were in the middle of a run-off. Stevenson was about 854 votes ahead of Johnson during the run-off. Stevenson was even ahead by midday, but after the discovery of the additional ballots, 200 additional votes for Johnson were discovered, leading to his victory by 87 votes out of 1 million voters.<ref name=wp /> |
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{{See also|1948 United States Senate election in Texas}} |
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== Who was involved == |
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On the day of the runoff election, Johnson appeared to have lost the Democratic nomination to Stevenson. Six days after polls had closed, 202 additional votes were added to the totals for Precinct 13 of Jim Wells County, 200 for Johnson and two for Stevenson. This resulted in a narrow lead for Johnson.<ref name="wp" /> |
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Adams{{who}} became very suspicious of this and he went to check it out. Adams noticed that the last 200 ballots were all very different. Some of them had different color ink, new names were in alphabetical order, and the handwriting appeared to be identical. Adams had a judge who he was friends with start an investigation and Johnson had [[Abe Fortas]], a friend of his, to come in and help with the legal plans during this investigation. The biggest question that needed to be answered was, did Johnson go to his friend George Parr, a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]] in Texas and ask him to help him out.<ref name=wp>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1990/03/04/the-mystery-of-ballot-box-13/70206359-8543-48e3-9ce2-f3c4fdf6da3d|title=The Mystery of Ballot Box 13|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 4, 1990}}</ref> |
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The subsequent recount, handled by the Democratic State Central Committee, took a week. Johnson was announced the winner by 87 votes out of 988,295, an extremely narrow margin of victory.<ref name="baum">{{cite journal|author=Dale Baum and James L. Hailey|date=Autumn 1994|title=Lyndon Johnson's Victory in the 1948 Texas Senate Race: A Reappraisal|journal=[[Political Science Quarterly]]|volume=109|issue=4|pages=595–613|doi=10.2307/2151840|jstor=2151840|quote=To the east in neighboring Jim Wells County{{snd}}home of the notorious Box 13, which happened to be the only box in the county dominated by Parr's operatives{{snd}}LBJ managed to acquire, according to the estimates, a four-percentage-point net gain over Stevenson, or about only 387 votes (of which at least two hundred were patently fraudulent).}}</ref> Suspicions arose that the 202 late votes were fraudulent. The names added to the end of the tally sheet were in alphabetical order and written with the same pen and handwriting. Some of the individuals whose names were listed insisted they had not voted that day, while the last person whose name was recorded before the questionable entries stated that when he voted shortly before the polls closed, there had been no one in line behind him.<ref>Caro 1990, pp. 360–361.</ref> |
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== The aftermath == |
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The investigation went all the way to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]. The Supreme Court Justice, [[Hugo Black]], ruled that the federal government was not allowed to get involved with a state election. This ruling was able to seal the fate of the election. Johnson won the election and the one thing no one could figure out is if Johnson spoke with [[George Berham Parr|George Parr]], in [[South Texas]] that day, which resulted in box 13 having 200 ballots that were missed and gave Johnson the victory.<ref name=wp /> |
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Stevenson took the dispute to court, and the case eventually reached the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]. Johnson prevailed on the basis that jurisdiction over naming a nominee rested with the state party, not the federal government.<ref>Dallek 1991, p. 346.</ref> A private, non-official investigation<ref>Dallek 1991, p. 340.</ref> found that Johnson had conspired with [[George Berham Parr|George Parr]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] leader in Texas, to falsify vote totals.<ref name="wp">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1990/03/04/the-mystery-of-ballot-box-13/70206359-8543-48e3-9ce2-f3c4fdf6da3d|title=The Mystery of Ballot Box 13|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 4, 1990}}</ref> In the general election, Johnson went on to defeat the Republican nominee [[Homa J. Porter|Jack Porter]] by a margin of 33.28% and 353,320 votes.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=The Rachel Maddow Show for April 29, 2021|surname=Beschloss|given=Michael Richard|subject-link=Michael Beschloss|url=https://www.nbc.com/the-rachel-maddow-show/video/rachel-maddow-42921/4329269|access-date=2021-04-30|series=The Rachel Maddow Show|series-link=The Rachel Maddow Show|network=[[MSNBC]]|date=2021-04-29}}</ref> |
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== Consequences == |
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After everything was over, some may have thought consequences would be inevitable.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/11/us/how-johnson-won-election-he-d-lost.htm|title=How Johnson won the Election He'd Lost|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 11, 1990}}</ref> That is not the case in this scenario. Since Johnson won the election, there would be no charges and nothing was able to be proven that Johnson actually had the box stuffed.<ref name=wp /> Pulitzer Prize winning author [[Robert A. Caro]] covered the Box 13 scandal in astounding detail. About one half of Caro's 500-page book, The Years of ''Lyndon Johnson, Means of Ascent,'' was devoted to the 1948 Texas Senatorial election. <ref> Robert A Caro, ''Lyndon Johnson, Means of Ascent,'' (New York, Vintage Books, 1990). </ref> The book does not cover Johnson's entire life; it covers his rise in the U. S. Congress. |
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== Aftermath == |
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Johnson biographer [[Robert Caro]] made the case in his 1990 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County.<ref>Woods 2006, p. 217; Caro 1990.</ref> A stage play based on the scandal, ''Box Thirteen'' by Jack Westin, was performed at the [[College of the Mainland]] Community Theatre during the 1998–1999 season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hudson, Angela |title=The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas on June 11, 1999 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/20102568/ |access-date=26 January 2021 |work=Galveston Daily News |date=June 11, 1999 |pages=21 |quote=A Tommy Townsend, left, appears with Bill Low in a scene from the world premiere of "Box Thirteen," which is being performed at the College of the Mainland Arena Theatre through June 27.}}</ref> |
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In 2023, Associated Press reporter James Mangan donated taped interviews to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum which confirmed the story that he recorded in 1977. Mangan was able to corroborate the story with Luis Salas, who worked as an election judge in South Texas. Salas told Mangan that the powerful South Texas political boss George B. Parr ordered that some 200 votes be added to the totals for Box 13. Salas said he then watched as the names of individuals who had not voted were added to the tally sheet.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stengle |first1=Angela |title='Window into history': Tapes detail LBJ's stolen election |url=https://apnews.com/article/lbj-stolen-election-tapes-box-13-mangan-5a81206d635d632daa9dbe6219ac3848 |access-date=April 2, 2023 |work=AP News |date=April 1, 2023}}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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===Works cited=== |
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== External links == |
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{{refbegin}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Caro |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Caro |title=The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7YEteQuN3IC&pg=PA399 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1990 |isbn=978-0394528359 |via=[[Google Books]]}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Dallek |first=Robert |title=Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973 |url=https://archive.org/details/flawedgiantlyndo00dall |url-access=registration |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/flawedgiantlyndo00dall/page/524 524] |isbn=978-0195054651}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Frum |first=David |title=How We Got Here: The '70s |url= |year=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |location= |isbn=978-0-465-04195-4}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Woods |first=Randall |title=LBJ: Architect of American Ambition |url=https://archive.org/details/lbj00rand |year=2006 |publisher=Free Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0684834580}} |
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{{refend}} |
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{{Lyndon B. Johnson}} |
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* http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980823&slug=2768084 |
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* https://web.archive.org/web/20170510102124/http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/072108/pagea5.pdf |
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[[Category:1948 in Texas]] |
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[[Category:1948 scandals]] |
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[[Category:1948 United States Senate elections]] |
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[[Category:Lyndon B. Johnson]] |
[[Category:Lyndon B. Johnson]] |
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[[Category:Political scandals in Texas]] |
[[Category:Political scandals in Texas]] |
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[[Category:Electoral fraud]] |
[[Category:Electoral fraud in the United States]] |
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Latest revision as of 23:16, 29 September 2024
The Box 13 scandal was a political scandal that occurred in Jim Wells County, Texas during the 1948 United States Senate elections, regarding disputed votes in a Democratic primary involving Lyndon B. Johnson and Coke Stevenson.
Origins and investigation
[edit]On the day of the runoff election, Johnson appeared to have lost the Democratic nomination to Stevenson. Six days after polls had closed, 202 additional votes were added to the totals for Precinct 13 of Jim Wells County, 200 for Johnson and two for Stevenson. This resulted in a narrow lead for Johnson.[1]
The subsequent recount, handled by the Democratic State Central Committee, took a week. Johnson was announced the winner by 87 votes out of 988,295, an extremely narrow margin of victory.[2] Suspicions arose that the 202 late votes were fraudulent. The names added to the end of the tally sheet were in alphabetical order and written with the same pen and handwriting. Some of the individuals whose names were listed insisted they had not voted that day, while the last person whose name was recorded before the questionable entries stated that when he voted shortly before the polls closed, there had been no one in line behind him.[3]
Stevenson took the dispute to court, and the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Johnson prevailed on the basis that jurisdiction over naming a nominee rested with the state party, not the federal government.[4] A private, non-official investigation[5] found that Johnson had conspired with George Parr, a Democratic Party leader in Texas, to falsify vote totals.[1] In the general election, Johnson went on to defeat the Republican nominee Jack Porter by a margin of 33.28% and 353,320 votes.[6]
Aftermath
[edit]Johnson biographer Robert Caro made the case in his 1990 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County.[7] A stage play based on the scandal, Box Thirteen by Jack Westin, was performed at the College of the Mainland Community Theatre during the 1998–1999 season.[8]
In 2023, Associated Press reporter James Mangan donated taped interviews to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum which confirmed the story that he recorded in 1977. Mangan was able to corroborate the story with Luis Salas, who worked as an election judge in South Texas. Salas told Mangan that the powerful South Texas political boss George B. Parr ordered that some 200 votes be added to the totals for Box 13. Salas said he then watched as the names of individuals who had not voted were added to the tally sheet.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Mystery of Ballot Box 13". Washington Post. March 4, 1990.
- ^ Dale Baum and James L. Hailey (Autumn 1994). "Lyndon Johnson's Victory in the 1948 Texas Senate Race: A Reappraisal". Political Science Quarterly. 109 (4): 595–613. doi:10.2307/2151840. JSTOR 2151840.
To the east in neighboring Jim Wells County – home of the notorious Box 13, which happened to be the only box in the county dominated by Parr's operatives – LBJ managed to acquire, according to the estimates, a four-percentage-point net gain over Stevenson, or about only 387 votes (of which at least two hundred were patently fraudulent).
- ^ Caro 1990, pp. 360–361.
- ^ Dallek 1991, p. 346.
- ^ Dallek 1991, p. 340.
- ^ Beschloss, Michael Richard (2021-04-29). "The Rachel Maddow Show for April 29, 2021". The Rachel Maddow Show. MSNBC. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ Woods 2006, p. 217; Caro 1990.
- ^ Hudson, Angela (June 11, 1999). "The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas on June 11, 1999". Galveston Daily News. p. 21. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
A Tommy Townsend, left, appears with Bill Low in a scene from the world premiere of "Box Thirteen," which is being performed at the College of the Mainland Arena Theatre through June 27.
- ^ Stengle, Angela (April 1, 2023). "'Window into history': Tapes detail LBJ's stolen election". AP News. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
Works cited
[edit]- Caro, Robert (1990). The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0394528359 – via Google Books.
- Dallek, Robert (1998). Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961–1973. Oxford University Press. p. 524. ISBN 978-0195054651.
- Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-04195-4.
- Woods, Randall (2006). LBJ: Architect of American Ambition. New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0684834580.
