After major confusion during the primary election two weeks ago, DCRP says things will be different for the May runoff.
DALLAS — After many Dallas County voters were turned away from polling places during the March primary due to new rules, the Dallas County Republican Party to end its precinct-based voting for the May runoff.
“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,” DCRP Chairman Allen West wrote in a statement on Facebook. “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.”
West said he will sign an amended contract this week to execute a countywide runoff election.
“Those that disagree with this decision are free to seek to replace me as Chairman,” West wrote. “However, as a former combat commander, I can smell an ambush, and having major leftist media outlets, including the NY Times, hounding me about precinct voting in the runoff election is an indicator.”
Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder called DCRP’s reverse in course “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,” Scudder wrote in a statement. “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.”
On the morning of the March primary, many voters and election workers at polling locations across Dallas County reported confusion when they showed up at their typical polling location just to be turned away. For years prior, Dallas County voters could cast ballots at any vote center on Election Day.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said the change disrupted a system that voters were accustomed to.
“No election is flawless, but few elections are as messed up as this one was,” Jillson said.
Around 6 p.m., a Dallas County judge granted a request from the Dallas County Democratic Party to extend voting hours until 9 p.m., citing “mass confusion.” The extension was intended to give voters who had been turned away earlier more time to cast ballots.
Still, some voters said they were unable to vote.
The runoff is on May 26. Early voting starts on May 18 and runs through May 22.