DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS — The Dallas County Republican Party will use countywide voting sites for the May 26 runoff election. Voters experienced disruptions during the March 3 primary election in Dallas County due to the precinct-based voting system.

Dallas County Republican Party Chair Allen West wrote, "I have made the decision that seeking to do precinct based operations for the runoff Election Day exposes the DCRP to increased risk and voter confusion." He wrote, "From the end of April through May there will be municipal elections and early voting for the runoff. All of these elections are countywide voting. To then shift for the one day runoff election to precincts would bring about large scale disruption."

For the March 3 primary election, the Dallas County Republican Party ran its primaries separately at the precinct level, requiring Democrats to do the same. Thousands of voters in Dallas County were confused about their assigned polling locations on March 3 because of the precinct-based voting system. Some voters were turned away on March 3, while others cast provisional ballots.

A Dallas County judge ordered Democratic polling sites to stay open for an additional two hours on March 3. The Texas Supreme Court blocked the order to keep polling sites open longer on March 3.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said, "For months, Democrats warned that forcing a return to a precinct-only system during Election Day would confuse voters, create long lines, and turn people away from the polls, and that's exactly what happened. This was a completely avoidable failure that wasted taxpayer dollars and undermined voter confidence."

Dallas County Republicans initially changed to precinct-level voting in March in hopes of counting their primary ballots by hand. Dallas County Republicans abandoned plans to count primary ballots by hand because of the high costs. Texas law requires both parties to agree to the countywide voting system for Election Day during a primary.

Allen West said he would not rule out returning to a precinct-based voting system after the May 26 runoff election. "There comes a time to know when to claim success and not go a bridge too far," he said. Dallas County is the second most populous county in Texas.

Voters will also decide the outcome of several House primary races in the May 26 runoff election.