Allen West’s resignation last week as Dallas County GOP chair, announced ahead of an executive committee meeting that was expected to call for his removal, should have closed a chapter of dysfunction in our local elections. Instead, it’s opening another.
The irony isn’t lost on us that West — after presiding over the change to precinct-based voting in the March primary that created confusion as voters went on a meandering search to track down their polling place — has cast himself as the voice of reason to return the May 26 runoff to the countywide model.
Switching back to countywide voting ahead of the high-stakes runoff for U.S. Senate between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton is the right thing to do, even if it’s a convenient change of heart. The confusion over voting locations during the primary resulted in hundreds of voters in both parties being turned away at the polls, but the urgency to fix the issue seems to have sharpened now that Republicans have a marquee runoff they want people to show up for.
Not everyone is on board with the return to countywide voting. This newspaper reported that members of Dallas County Republican Party’s executive committee say the change to a county contract signed by West to allow voters to cast ballots at any vote center, regardless of address, is invalid because the committee didn’t authorize the agreement.
But there’s not enough time to change the contract again.
Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams told us the office will be moving forward with the signed party contracts it has received for countywide voting, and that the runoff election is “well in progress.”
The elections office has already begun sending out ballots and vote centers have started preparations. Early voting in the runoff begins May 18.
Questions about whether West had the authority to amend voting procedures without executive committee approval may play out in legal challenges. The Texas Election Code says that a county election officer must offer to contract on the same terms with the county executive committee.
Who had the authority to sign off on this change?
Either way, when party disputes throw a wrench into election procedures at the last minute, the party leaves voters who just want to be able to cast a ballot caught in the middle.
That’s why local elections and party leadership matters. The county party chair and precinct chairs are elected officials. They directly affect whether voters know where to go on voting day and whether voting feels like an easy task to check off the to-do list or an obstacle course to navigate.
Voting shouldn’t be hard. This time around, Dallas County voters should expect to cast their ballots at countrywide vote centers.
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