Last-minute changes to Election Day voting procedures in two Texas counties yesterday led to hundreds of voters being turned away from polling places JUST AS THEY PLANNED.
First, Democratic voters in the area were given two extra hours to cast their ballots after a judge intervened – only to have the state Supreme Court order the county to keep separate any votes cast during the extended voting period.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett understood what happened.
“Listen, this may be a very close election, and it may hinge on who was allowed to vote or who wasn’t allowed to vote in Dallas County,” she said. “Regardless as to whether or not it’s close or not, this is wrong if one person has the right to vote, and they weren’t allowed to cast their vote.”
Oh yeah, and at the last minute, voters in Dallas and Williamson counties had to navigate new voting rules that required them to vote at assigned precincts -- BUT THEY DID NOT PUBLISH THE NEW LOCATIONS. (How conVENient!) The change sparked confusion with hundreds of voters turned away from polling places and sent to the correct precincts, according to Kardal Coleman, the Dallas Co. Dem chair.
Coleman obtained a court order to keep nearly 280 Democratic precincts in the county until 10 p.m. ET.
The Texas Supreme Court then stayed the earlier court order that extended voting in Dallas County, ruling that any votes cast by people not in line at 8 p.m. ET should be separated. Nicholas Solorzano, a spokesman for the Dallas County Elections Department, said anyone who voted during the extended hours did so with provisional ballots.
