Did Texas Democrats break the voting system? Voters frustrated, but the chairwoman’s happy
Only in Texas is it considered a problem when too many Democrats show up to vote.
“Not to me — I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairwoman Deborah Peoples, doing TV interviews with hours yet to go before the end of a very long and tiring Super Tuesday 2020.
Slightly more Democrats than Republicans voted in Tarrant County, where Republicans used to hold a 2-to-1 edge. Voters waited in line two hours and more across Texas, partly because local county and party officials doled out machines based on turnout in past elections.
This was not like other elections, not only for Democrats but also for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the beneficiary of an equally fired-up Republican turnout to defeat Tea Party-style challenger Chris Putnam.
But the day belonged to Texas Democrats, who almost broke the system in some counties with heavy urban turnout.
“I talked to a 67-year-old man who told me he’d never voted, but he’s voting now,” Peoples said. “Our voters are not happy because of long lines. But long lines mean there were a lot of voters.”
Tarrant County election officials assigned 1,767 of their new $11 million voting machines to Republicans and only 1,015 to Democrats, despite indications that Democrats would have a busier presidential primary and a larger turnout.
Then, unlike in other counties, Tarrant County officials never adjusted or moved machines after Democrats outvoted Republicans in early voting.
For Democrats, one of the most telling victories on the Tarrant County ballot was far beneath the noisy presidential race.
Grapevine Democrat Shadi Zitoon, a quality analyst, was on his way to the Texas Senate District 12 nomination to face state Sen. Jane Nelson. Zitoon rode progressive support to defeat a Fort Worth Democrat, Randy Daniels, who was ruled eligible despite a past felony conviction.
Zitoon ”is a strong candidate who resonated with voters, even though he didn’t have the simplest name,” Peoples said.
“It shows Democrats are educated voters and paying attention up and down the ballot.”
Despite the crowds, her party has barely pulled even.
Even with the large turnout, Democrats narrowly outvoted Republicans statewide, 2..1 million-2 million.
“In some ways, the substantial Republican turnout is even more impressive” given the lack of a top-ticket race, SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson wrote by email.
President Donald Trump’s campaign asked for a big turnout after his impeachment.
He definitely provoked a big turnout.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 10:48 PM.
