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DALLAS – After voter confusion on primary election day in March, Dallas County Republicans want to change how the May runoff elections will work.
Dallas County GOP returns to countywide polling sites
What we know:
The Dallas County Republican Party announced it wants to return to countywide elections for the May 26 runoff elections.
For the March primary elections, Republicans had requested a split primary. That decision split the two parties’ voting locations instead of holding a joint election with countywide voting centers. Polling locations were instead determined by precincts.
Dallas County GOP Chairman Allen West released the following statement on the change.
“I have made the decision that seeking to do precinct based operations for the runoff Election Day exposes the DCRP to increased risk and voter confusion. From the end of April through May there will be municipal elections and early voting for the runoff. All of these elections are countywide voting. To then shift for the one day runoff election to precincts would bring about large scale disruption. This week I will sign an amended contract for the DCRP to execute non-joint countywide runoff election.”
The Dallas County Elections Department confirmed that both parties appear in agreement on countywide voting locations in May.
Split primary causes confusion on election day
The backstory:
The split primary led to confusion for Dallas County voters on March 3, mainly from Democrats.
Many voters were turned away from their usual polling locations due to the change. An error on the Texas Secretary of State’s website gave voters incorrect information on polling locations and led to even more people being turned away, and the Dallas County website crashed with voters trying to figure out where they could vote.
Based on the early confusion, Dallas County Democrats asked for and received a court ruling that extended voting hours in Dallas County until 9 p.m. for Democrats.
Ten minutes before the new deadline, the Texas State Supreme Court overruled the Dallas County judge, meaning that any of the around 2,000 votes cast after the original 7 p.m. deadline did not count.
Dallas County Democrats respond
The other side:
Dallas County Democrats ridiculed the change in a statement, saying the change is “a clear admission that their own election changes were a failure.”
“After causing chaos on Election Day, Republicans are now scrambling to undo the damage they created,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. “For months, Democrats warned that forcing a return to a precinct-only system during Election Day would confuse voters, create long lines, and turn people away from the polls, and that’s exactly what happened. This was a completely avoidable failure that wasted taxpayer dollars and undermined voter confidence.”
“Now that the consequences are impossible to ignore, Republicans are suddenly trying to remember what it means to serve the people. Texans shouldn’t have to endure manufactured crises just so politicians can score points with their base. Democrats will continue fighting to ensure every voter can cast their ballot freely, fairly, and without unnecessary barriers.”
Explaining the change
Dig deeper:
FOX 4’s Amelia Jones talked to Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at SMU, about why both parties will be happy with the change.
“It’s not clear what the party really gained from preventing countywide voting on Election Day in the first place, and we know that some voters in Dallas County were confused,” Wilson told Jones. “I think Democrats will be happy with this change. Democrats never really wanted to go to precincts limited voting on Election Day in the first place, that was primarily a Republican initiative.”
The runoff election between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton for the Republican nomination for Senate might have gone into the party’s decision to return to countywide polling. Wilson says countywide voting could increase voter turnout for Republicans.
“That will be the main thing driving turnout during the runoff cycle. And so, yeah, I think definitely calculations surrounding that were central to the party’s decision-making in this case,” Wilson said.
What’s next:
The Dallas County Elections Department says both parties were given amended contracts to implement the changes. Once finalized, more information will be shared with voters, including voting locations and election schedules.
The runoff elections are scheduled for May 26.
The Source: Information in this story came from statements from the Dallas County Republican Party and the Dallas County Democratic Party, as well as FOX 4 reporting.