DALLAS — Dallas County will officially scrap precinct-based voting locations and proceed with countywide sites for the upcoming May runoff elections.
This comes after countless voters were turned away from the polls earlier this month, leading to a lawsuit by the Dallas County Democratic Party that was later dropped.
On Tuesday, the chair of the Dallas County Republican Party (DCRP) confirmed he will sign the agreement to put countywide voting into effect, saying the party-based voting presents too much risk and voter confusion.
“As Chairman of the DCRP it is my responsibility and duty to protect this organization,” said Allen West. “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.”
Centralized countywide voting had been the standard in Dallas County for years after the state allowed for it over 20 years ago. The DCRP decided not to use countywide voting prior to the March 3 primary, with West previously supporting the use of precinct-based sites.
The runoff election is on May 26.