Tarrant County democratic leaders work to educate voters about 2 non-candidate names on the primary ballot

Voters in Tarrant County will see Marc Veasey on the primary ballot. The only issue is: he dropped out of the race. Scoop Jefferson explains the confusion.

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Congressman Marc Veasey is trying to clear up confusion among Democratic voters after many noticed his name still appears on the primary ballot for Tarrant County Judge, even though he withdrew from the race.

In a video posted online, Veasey told voters, “You are still going to see my name on the ballot for county judge.”

According to the Tarrant County Democratic Party, the issue comes down to timing and state law. Party Chair Allison Campolo said Veasey withdrew too late for his name to be removed. Unfortunately, for their party, Veasey isn’t the only person who didn’t act fast enough this election cycle before changing their mind.

“We have one statewide name and one Tarrant County name, which is Andrew White for governor and Mark Veasey for county judge, who are both on the ballot. They withdrew, but it was after the deadline,” Allison Campolo said.

A withdrawal form shows Veasey formally pulling his name from the primary race for Tarrant County Judge. However, under a state election code revised in 2015, the ballot had already been finalized and approved for printing, meaning his name had to remain.

One of the two candidates actually still running for the Democratic nomination, Alisa Simmons, said the situation has created real confusion among voters.

“Well, it’s concerning because it causes voter confusion,” Alisa Simmons said.

Simmons said she has heard directly from voters who recognize Veasey’s name and are unsure how to proceed.

“I’ve heard from people that say, we love the work that you’re doing. Commissioner Simmons. But we’ve always voted for Congressman Veasey,” Simmons said.

The other candidate in the race, Millennium Anton Woods Jr., said Veasey’s name appearing on the ballot caught his attention, but he does not believe it will hurt his campaign.

“We were all talking about it,” Woods Jr. said.

“I’m not really sure what the impact might be. I can kind of guess, it doesn’t hurt me. I know that for sure,” Woods Jr. said.

Despite Veasey’s efforts to explain the situation and the Democratic Party’s attempts to educate voters at polling locations, Campolo said it may be impossible to reach everyone.

“Unfortunately, we probably will not be effective in reaching every single voter,” Campolo said.

Campolo said it remains unclear what effect the confusion could have once early voting ends, and ballots are counted after the March 3 primary.