Houston councilmember on the ballot denies wrongdoing after being told to leave polling place

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Harris County Clerk's Office confirmed District D Houston Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz was asked to leave a Sunnyside polling location at least twice on Thursday.

A viewer reported to ABC13 that Evans-Shabazz was campaigning inside a polling area.

ABC13 found her inside the polling location within the 100-foot markers earlier in the afternoon.

The markers signify the area where campaigns could not be present unless voting. Shabazz said she was previously told not to be in this area when Eyewitness News spoke with her.

She told ABC13 she was using the restroom, but when we arrived, she was sitting inside the building where voting was taking place.

The clerk's office believed the situation was resolved, and Evans-Shabazz was no longer in the polling area until ABC13 called to ask if this was a possible violation of election law.

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Evans-Shabazz left the location after ABC13 spoke with her and returned to just outside the markers.

"If an active candidate on the ballot - after they vote - linger and remain inside that 100-foot rule, my view would be that is electioneering," Robert Stein, Rice University political science professor, said.

The clerk's office said it couldn't enforce this rule, and it was up to the election judge present at the polling location to do so.

"I think a city official should know the rules, and I think it's a sense of entitlement that she can do things other people can't do," her District D opponent Travis McGee said.

Evans-Shabazz denied any claims of electioneering, and in a statement, she claims she was speaking with the precinct judge over a poll worker's conduct when things escalated. You can read her statement below, or if viewing in mobile, here:

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