\t\t\t\t\tOverview:<\/p>\n
Dallas County Republicans in Texas have decided against hand-counting ballots in the upcoming March primary due to a lack of workers and other logistical hurdles. Meanwhile, Republicans in Dallas and Williamson counties will eliminate countywide voting sites on Election Day, requiring voters to cast ballots at assigned neighborhood polling places instead. Democrats in these counties are concerned that the change will confuse voters and potentially disenfranchise those who go to the wrong location. Republicans claim the change will make elections more secure and easier to verify voter registration.<\/p>\n
In an about-face, Dallas County Republicans last week\u00a0decided against hand-counting ballots<\/a>\u00a0in Texas\u2019 March primary, saying they weren\u2019t able to line up enough workers, among other hurdles.\u00a0<\/p>\n That leaves just two counties where Republicans will hand-count their primary ballots: Gillespie County, west of Austin, and Eastland County, southwest of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n But Republicans in Dallas and Williamson counties are planning another major change for the March 3 primary election that will also require more election workers, and will affect how voters cast their ballots: They intend to eliminate the use of countywide voting sites on Election Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n That means voters in these counties \u2014 Republicans and Democrats \u2014 would be required to cast ballots at assigned neighborhood polling places instead of at more centralized polling locations that can accommodate any voter from anywhere in the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under state law, the parties have wide authority to decide how to run their primaries, but they must agree on whether to use countywide voting. If the Republicans don\u2019t want to offer it, Democrats can\u2019t offer it either.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michelle Evans, the chair of the Williamson County GOP, said that having voters cast ballots at their assigned polling location brings \u201ca higher level of confidence that the people that are coming in are people that are registered voters in that area, because that is their community.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats in those counties say they\u2019re struggling to find enough locations to support neighborhood-level voting. \u201cWe don\u2019t even have all the locations locked down,\u201d said Kim Gilby, the Democratic Party chair in Williamson County. \u201cTo me, this is going to be a nightmare.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrats also worry the change will confuse voters from both parties who have for years been used to countywide sites on Election Day. The move, they say, could potentially disenfranchise voters who go to the wrong location and aren\u2019t able to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n In response to questions, Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Allen West said all voters receive registration cards that list their precinct. \u201cI would hate to believe that we have devolved to a point where we feel the voting electorate is too incompetent to read their own voter registration card,\u201d West told Votebeat in a text message.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why the shift is happening, and what you need to know:\u00a0<\/p>\n Who decides where voters can cast ballots on Election Day during a primary election?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Under state law, for Election Day voting, it\u2019s up to political parties to determine whether voters should cast ballots at their assigned neighborhood precinct or at a countywide vote center.<\/p>\n This applies only to primaries. For general elections (which include any election called by the governor), that decision is made at the county level by the county commissioners\u2019 courts.\u00a0<\/p>\n What about early voting during a primary election?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n County officials, not the political parties, manage the two weeks of early voting. Under state law, during early voting, voters can cast ballots in person at any polling location available in their county.\u00a0<\/p>\n Can\u2019t Democrats split with Republicans and stick with countywide vote centers on Election Day?<\/strong><\/p>\n No. In order for a county to offer countywide polling places in the primary election, under Texas law, both parties must agree to use them. So the Republicans\u2019 decision to use assigned polling locations in some counties requires Democrats in those counties to do the same, even if the party prefers countywide polling sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why do Republicans favor assigned neighborhood voting sites over countywide voting?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Republican critics of countywide voting<\/a>\u00a0claim it makes elections less secure because it could allow people \u201cto double or triple vote,\u201d though there\u2019s no evidence that this can happen. Texas election officials have procedures in place to prevent double voting, including the use of voting equipment that helps officials know in real time who has voted and where.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some Republicans also say countywide voting makes it easier to pierce ballot secrecy by allowing the public to piece together different pieces of data from public records to figure out what choices certain people made on their ballots.\u00a0<\/p>\n Votebeat and the Texas Tribune last year reported that it was possible, in limited instances, to link some ballots to the voters who cast them, but the problem wasn\u2019t just tied to voters using countywide voting sites and eliminating it doesn\u2019t fix risks to ballot secrecy. The problem with linking ballots stems from Texas\u2019 push to make almost all election records public, which allowed researchers, in some cases, to cross-reference different public records and\u00a0find a specific voter\u2019s ballot image<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Republican lawmakers have proposed eliminating the use of countywide voting across the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n What are Democrats\u2019 concerns with assigned neighborhood-level polling locations?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Using assigned precincts requires, in some cases, twice as many polling locations as countywide voting. Each polling place has to be staffed with workers and furnished with materials and equipment. Texas law requires each polling location to have a minimum of three election workers, who must be paid at least $12 per hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n Party and county officials say it\u2019s difficult to find enough election workers and enough polling locations that comply with security and accessibility requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although some public buildings are free to use, they\u2019re not always available, which requires leasing of spaces, at an additional cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n