The Dallas County Republican Party’s (DCRP) switch to precinct-based voting for the March 3 primary election sparked widespread voter confusion, as voters were redirected from their usual polling places after arriving at the wrong locations.
While initial reports from legacy outlets largely pinned the blame on the Dallas County GOP for pushing the change from the longstanding countywide system, Dallas County GOP Chairman Lt. Col. Allen West has pushed back, asserting that the DCRP provided accurate polling information on its website, whereas discrepancies on the Texas Secretary of State’s and Dallas County Elections Department’s sites contributed to the mix-ups.
West also pointed to deceptive text messages and misinformation from poll workers as aggravating factors. The confusion fueled a brief court-ordered extension of polling hours that disproportionately affected Democrats, before the Texas Supreme Court intervened to set aside late ballots.
Now, ahead of the May 26 runoff, West has announced a reversal to countywide voting sites to prevent repeat disruptions, calling the primary a success for Republican voters while signaling caution against future precinct-only experiments.
West Defends DCRP
“They had some bad information. Their websites did not match ours, and ours was very accurate,” West said to The Dallas Express. “People that went to our website to get their polling location for primary election day had no issues.”
Dozens of voters across Dallas County were redirected in the March 3 primaries when they showed up at the wrong polling places, as The Dallas Express reported.
Many legacy outlets blamed the Dallas County GOP for the confusion, as the party pushed to replace countywide voting with precinct-only voting on Election Day.
“There were some issues with the Secretary of State and the Dallas County Election Department website,” West said.
West also cited “deceptive text messages” sent to Republicans, and “misinformation” people were giving from poll books – allegedly from some Democrat election judges.
Election Night Drama
On election night, the Dallas County Democratic Party took action by filing a lawsuit due to the delays. They argued that the mix-ups justified extending voting hours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“The Democratic Party has gone behind the Election Department’s back and went straight to a judge and has an injunction to keep the polls open for another two hours,” Dallas County GOP officials wrote at the time.
Democrats reached an initial victory and were allowed to continue voting while polls were closed for Republicans. Attorney General Ken Paxton acted quickly, securing a ruling against the extension.
Texans sent Paxton and incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn to the Republican Senate runoff. Meanwhile, they shot down U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in favor of state Rep. James Talarico for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Runoff Strategy Shift
West said he hopes to shift back to countywide voting for the runoff elections to avoid confusion at the polls.
“One of the things I’m concerned about is having a repeat of that as we go to our runoff election,” he said. “I’m not going to have us do precinct-based voting for that runoff election, because I don’t want to see the left once again come in and try to create confusion for Republican voters.”
West also fears “external actors” could cause “massive disruption.”
“This week I will sign an amended contract for the DCRP to execute [a] non-joint countywide runoff election,” he said, according to The Hill. “Those that disagree with this decision are free to seek to replace me as Chairman.”
One Dallas County GOP official, who wished to remain unnamed, told The Dallas Express the precinct chairs had not officially approved the change back to countywide voting. The source also suggested they could oppose West.
After Election Day, West applauded Republican voters for how they handled precinct-specific voting centers, as DX reported.
“Republican voters in Dallas County evidenced their ability to adapt and overcome proving that precinct level voting can be accomplished on primary Election Day,” West said at the time.
“It’s apparent that Democrats struggled with grasping basic civics and their usual attempt at lawfare backfired,” West continued.
The Dallas Express reached out to the Dallas County Elections Department for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
