Voters in Williamson County reported two- to three-hour long wait times at polling locations this Election Day.
A judge ordered two polling places in the county to remain open until 10 p.m. Similar issues were reported in Dallas County, where a judge ultimately ordered polls there to remain open until 9 p.m. It remains unclear, however, if those who cast ballots after 7 p.m. will have their votes counted after the Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked the judges’ orders.
As the Williamson County Democratic Party was working on filing a lawsuit to extend voting hours, party officials said they were unable to reach a judge.
The Texas Democratic Party, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico all called for the extension of voting hours as the confusion unfolded.
“For more than two months, Democratic Party leadership has been warning Republican leadership every step of the way that a disaster was impending, but they refused to listen,” the Texas Democratic Party said in a statement. “Now, voters all across Dallas and Williamson Counties are being denied ballot access, being turned away at the polls, and facing outrageous wait times at their polling locations.”
Williamson County said election results for GOP races would not be completely available until Wednesday due to changes the local Republican Party has made.
The long wait times came as Williamson County ended countywide voting on primary Election Day. While registered voters would typically be able to vote at any polling location, they were required to vote at their assigned neighborhood polling place for the primary.
“We’re hearing reports from around the county at different locations people are being forced to wait,” Kim Gilby, Williamson County’s Democratic party chair, said. “And, of course, we all know everybody can’t wait in line two to three hours to vote, so we’re seeing people being unable to vote today.”
The change came at the request of the Williamson County Republican Party. In order for countywide polling places to be available for primary elections, both parties must agree.