Texas Republicans staked their case on apparent precinct-to-precinct inconsistencies in how many ballots officials discounted: Officials appeared stricter about voiding improperly marked ballots in Republican-leaning areas than in heavily Democratic areas—thus shearing Nixon's totals but not Kennedy's. The GOP managed to get a federal court injunction to delay certification of the vote until the party's petition for a recount of 1.25 million ballots could be heard. But when the petition itself came before a federal district judge, he rejected it. No one's civil rights had been violated, the judge ruled, and apart from a civil-rights claim, federal courts had no jurisdiction over state vote contests.