Whether primary ballots set aside in two Texas counties will be counted remains uncertain

Uncertainty Looms Over Extended Hours Ballots in Texas Primaries

The fate of ballots cast during extended polling hours in Texas’ primary elections remained in limbo Wednesday, as officials in two counties await direction following intervention by the state’s highest court.

In Dallas County, Texas’ second most populous and heavily Democratic area, election officials have segregated votes cast after the standard 7 p.m. closing time. This comes after the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay Tuesday night, halting a lower court’s ruling that had extended voting hours. Williamson County, located north of Austin, faces the same situation with ballots from two polling locations now set aside.

The extended hours were initially ordered in Dallas County after what a judge described as “voter confusion so severe” that it crashed the county election website. The confusion stemmed from a significant change in voting procedures — Dallas County voters were required to cast ballots at their assigned precincts rather than at any polling location in the county, as had been standard practice since 2019.

This procedural shift occurred because local Republicans opted against the countywide voting system, and under state law, Democrats were required to follow the same protocol. The result was widespread confusion, with many voters being turned away from polling places and redirected elsewhere.

“There is a case to be made, and we can document it, there were people who were disenfranchised,” said Terri Burke, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. She expressed pessimism about the chances of the late ballots being counted, noting that Texas law makes it difficult to extend polling hours.

While the exact number of affected ballots remains unclear, Dallas County Elections Department data shows 2,316 in-person “provisional” ballots were rejected or pending. This figure includes ballots flagged for various issues, not just those cast during extended hours. By comparison, nearly 280,000 people voted in the county’s election overall, according to unofficial figures.

The legal challenge to the extended hours came from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who himself advanced to a runoff Tuesday against Senator John Cornyn for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Shortly after Paxton’s challenge, the state Supreme Court issued orders for both Dallas and Williamson counties, instructing officials to separate ballots cast by voters who were not in line by the original 7 p.m. deadline.

Emily French, policy director for voting advocacy group Common Cause Texas, explained that setting aside ballots cast during extended hours is standard procedure. She cited El Paso as another example where voting was extended for an hour on Tuesday due to problems with voter check-in systems earlier in the day. French indicated these ballots would likely be counted if no one contests the extension.

The situation initially raised concerns about potential impacts on high-profile races, particularly the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Dallas is the home base for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, though she later conceded to state lawmaker James Talarico, making the ballot issue less consequential for that race.

Burke identified a deeper systemic issue beyond the immediate ballot controversy. She plans to push the legislature to repeal a 2006 law requiring both parties to hold joint primaries. “If one party wants to wreck their primary, they should be able to do that but they should not be able to wreck someone else’s,” Burke stated.

Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, emphasized that the organization continues “to monitor this situation and will be weighing all options to ensure every Texan is able to have their vote counted.”

The situation highlights the ongoing tensions in Texas voting administration, where procedural changes and legal challenges can create significant confusion for voters and potentially affect electoral outcomes, particularly in closely contested races.