Texas Republicans in Dallas and Hays counties have cancelled plans to hand-count ballots in the March primary elections. Party officials said high costs, staffing shortages, and challenges meeting federal election rules made the effort impractical.
Dallas County Pulls Back
The Dallas County Republican Party initially aimed to recruit over 3,000 volunteers to manually count ballots. In the end, they only secured about 1,300 to 1,500. Chairman Allen West explained that the long ballot would have made counting even more difficult and risked missing the state’s 24-hour deadline for submitting results.
“It’s a second-degree misdemeanour if volunteers don’t get ballots counted and submitted on time,” West said. “We didn’t want to put anyone in that position.” He added that while the party had raised $500,000 for the project, they would have needed more funds to complete it safely.
Hays County Faces Legal and Operational Challenges
Hays County Republicans struggled with different obstacles. The county lacked enough accessible voting machines at precincts and experienced delays in getting the election data needed to organise polling locations. Chairwoman Michelle Lopez warned that moving forward without these elements would have exposed the party and voters to legal, financial, and operational risks.
Next Steps for the Parties
Both Dallas and Hays counties plan to continue using standard voting procedures for the March primaries. Officials aim to comply fully with federal and state election rules to ensure voter confidence.
