A voting system intended to help minorities get elected primarily benefited an incumbent white man and a Hispanic woman in the recent Amarillo Independent School District board of trustees election.

Incumbent Jack Thompson and newcomers Janie Rivas and Jim Austin were elected to the seven-member board in the second election to use a cumulative voting system.

In the May 4 election, each voter had three votes to cast in any combination.

Rivas, 46, a community volunteer, and Thompson, 69, received more votes than the number of ballots cast in several precincts. This indicates voters used more than one of their three votes for these candidates.