The Dallas County Republican Party is raising a conflict-of-interest dispute\u00a0about Friendship-West Baptist Church serving as a polling location while its senior pastor, Frederick Douglass Haynes III, runs for Congress.<\/p>\n
Haynes is the Democratic candidate for Texas\u2019 30th Congressional District. Federal Election Commission records<\/a> identify Haynes as a Democratic candidate for the seat, while Friendship-West identifies<\/a> him as its senior pastor, a position he has held for more than four decades.<\/p>\n Dallas County\u2019s published vote-center lists<\/a> for the November 3 general election include Friendship-West Baptist Church at 2020 W. Wheatland Road. The church has served as a Dallas County vote center in prior elections.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m running for Congress because District 30 deserves representation rooted in the lived realities of everyday people, not corporate talking points, political convenience, or systems that benefit the few while extracting from the many,\u201d Haynes\u2019 campaign website<\/a> states.<\/p>\n Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Monty Monta\u00f1ez told The Dallas Express that Republicans have repeatedly raised concerns with the Dallas County Elections Department over using Haynes\u2019 church as a polling location while he is on the ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were initially told that the Dallas County Elections Administration, the District Attorney, and the Texas Secretary of State had reviewed the issue during the primary and found no violation,\u201d Monta\u00f1ez told DX.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that still leaves a very basic question,\u201d added Monta\u00f1ez. \u201cIf the Elections Department is paying a church to serve as a polling location, and the pastor of that church is a candidate who receives compensation from the church, how does that not create, at minimum, a serious appearance of a conflict of interest?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Monta\u00f1ez said the party has since received confirmation that the Texas Secretary of State reopened its review of the matter as the general election approaches.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of the ultimate legal determination, the standard for our elections should be higher than simply asking whether something is technically permissible,\u201d Monta\u00f1ez told DX. \u201cVoters deserve complete confidence that their polling places are neutral and free from even the appearance of conflicts of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dallas GOP is calling on Dallas County to remove Friendship-West from its list of Election Day polling locations.<\/p>\n Ajua Mason, a Black Republican activist, also criticized the arrangement in a statement to The Dallas Express.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving Freddie Haynes on the ballot while his church serves as a polling place is like a referee calling the game from his own living room when he\u2019s also one of the players,\u201d Mason told DX.<\/p>\n Friendship-West has a history of political and social activism. The church describes itself as a hub for civic engagement and social change, and Haynes\u2019 campaign website<\/a> touts the church\u2019s work involving voter education, civil rights and political engagement.<\/p>\n