As early voting for the March 3 primary begins Tuesday, Dallas County officials are taking to social media feeds, radio and mailboxes to ensure voters understand a major change impacting this election.
Dallas County residents can vote at any of the 73 universal voting centers through Feb. 27 regardless of their address. But on the March 3 election day, all voters will be required to cast a ballot at their assigned neighborhood precinct for the first time in nearly 10 years due to a change imposed by the Republican Party.
Elected officials and Democratic leaders have fretted about the confusion this could cause on election day for voters accustomed to the universal system being available through the whole election. Last month the Commissioners Court approved $1 million to fund advertisements and mailers detailing the change to prevent people from showing up to the wrong place on election day.
As of Monday afternoon, the Democratic Party had 280 election day polling sites and the Republican Party had 243, according to the elections department website. But Elections Department spokesperson Nicholas Solorzano said the county is still finalizing contracts with a handful of March 3 locations chosen by the parties. Some, he said, may change before election day.
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Solorzano advises all residents who wait to cast a ballot until March 3 to check the county’s interactive map to confirm their polling location before heading out to vote. To avoid any confusion, he said “please just go vote early.”
Due to the separate primary required by the GOP, the parties will have some shared polling sites on March 3, where Democrats and Republicans will use different equipment and be guided by separate election workers in the same location.
In other precincts, Democrats and Republicans will have to report to different polling locations on election day, even if they are neighbors or family in the same household but belong to different parties.
Allen West, chair of the county Republican Party, previously said he pushed for precinct-based voting on election day because it “reduces the opportunity for fraudulent activity.”
But Democratic Party Chair Kardal Coleman has said this was an unnecessary change already causing confusion and strain on the elections department as the parties needed extra time to finalize separate polling locations. The risk of voters showing up to the wrong polling place amounts to “voter suppression,” he said.
Elections Administrator Paul Adams said navigators will be assigned to March 3 polling places to direct voters to the correct precinct if they show up to the wrong location.
Social media ads and mailers are appearing to let people know “where you vote may have changed.” But County Commissioners have said voting early this year is the best option to avoid problems.
“Vote early,” Commissioner Elba Garcia said earlier this month. “Do not wait until election day, and do not wait until the last minute.”