In ominous sign, Texas Republicans changed voting rules, then blocked efforts to protect voters

Baffled Texans in two counties struggled to find their polling locations for primary voting Tuesday after a GOP-driven change. The secretary of state’s office failed to provide accurate information. Texas’ Republican attorney general sued to oppose extended voting hours for those confused voters. And the GOP-controlled state Supreme Court quickly ruled in its favor.

The cascade of preventable problems and anti-voting lawfare suggests the GOP is laying the groundwork to erect more hurdles in the fall, when voters return to the polls for multiple competitive races — including a high-profile one for the U.S. Senate.

Hundreds of voters in Dallas and Williamson counties were turned away and redirected to other polling locations Tuesday after local Republicans needlessly abandoned the countywide voting systems that previously allowed voters to cast a ballot at any polling location. Now voters were forced to go to a specific precinct polling place.

Under Texas election rules, Democrats were also beholden to the GOP’s decision to switch to precinct-based voting on Election Day.

Republicans offered little explanation for the change, with Williamson County Republican Party Chair Michelle Evans telling KUT News, “I could get into all of those details, but at the end of the day, it’s because we can. It’s legal. It’s something we’re entitled to do, and it’s something that our party would like us to do.”

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/in-ominous-sign-texas-republicans-changed-voting-rules-then-blocked-efforts-to-protect-voters/