Widespread confusion over polling locations marred the Dallas County primary elections on Tuesday, leading to hundreds of voters being turned away and prompting a flurry of legal actions as Democrats accused Republicans of creating barriers to voting.
The chaos stemmed from the Dallas County Republican Party’s decision to opt out of a joint primary with Democrats, ending more than a decade of countywide voting where residents could cast ballots at any location within the county. Instead, voters were required to go to their assigned precincts, a change that caught many off guard despite warnings from election officials.
The result was that election night ended in frustration and even anger among many Democrats, and the Dallas debacle became fodder for political pundits in the national media.
“Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do,” U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, currently running for U.S. Senate, told her supporters when giving up on having final answers on election night.
“And so, they specifically targeted Dallas County and I think we all know why. So, I want you to enjoy yourselves, but I won’t be back tonight because I have no idea of when we’re gonna get results and I fully anticipate it won’t be until tomorrow.”
Crockett’s primary race against James Talarico was up in the air and too close to call through the late hours, exacerbating tensions caused by the disruption.
Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Kardal Coleman indicated hundreds, indeed up to possibly a third of Democrats who intended to vote, were redirected to other sites. Many of those were outraged when they realized they would not be able to reach the appropriate location in time.
The retort from the Republican side was short and dismissive.
“That’s on them,” Dallas County GOP Chair Allen West told NBC reporters via phone. “You didn’t see us asking for an injunction. We did a good job of explaining the process to our voters.”
West had been a proponent of the change in format, citing the Republican matra of improving election security.
Making matters worse, the county’s elections website crashed as a tidal wave of voters logged on to check their precincts. A petition filed by Coleman described “mass confusion” severe enough to warrant intervention.
Dallas County District Judge Staci Williams responded by ordering Democratic polling sites to remain open until 9 p.m., two hours past the standard 7 p.m. closing, to accommodate those impacted.
“The Court after reviewing the petition finds that there has been mass confusion as to where voters were entitled to cast their ballot on election day, and voter confusion was so severe that the Dallas County Election Department website crashed,” Williams wrote in response.
But the Texas Supreme Court, prompted by a challenge from Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton (who is himself seeking election) issued a stay.
“Voting should occur only as permitted by Texas Election Code Section 41.032. Votes cast by voters who were not in line to vote at 7pm should be separated,” the order read.
The court mandated that ballots cast after 7 p.m. by voters not already in line be segregated, potentially subjecting them to later scrutiny. Dallas County Elections Administrator Paul Adams confirmed the separation of those votes.
Despite the clamor, poll watchers were confident in calling the U.S. Senate primary for Talarico late in the evening. In his remarks to his followers who stood the course through the evening, he acknowledged that his opponent had grounds for disappointment in the process.
“We are still waiting for an official call, but we are confident in this movement we build together,” Talarico said. ‘Every vote must be counted. Every voice must be heard. The voter suppression in my home county and in Congressman Crockett’s home county underscores the gravity of this moment. This movement is about whether the people will hold the power in this state and in this country.”
