March 2024 Republican primary can move forward in Tarrant County, GOP chair says
Tarrant County can move forward with the Republican primary for the March 5 election, according to the county’s Republican Party chair and top election official.
Tarrant County Republican Party previously said it may not be able to hold a primary in March if a new law related to polling locations doesn’t change. But in a Thursday news release, the party said an agreement had been reached with the Texas Secretary of State’s office that will let the party hold its primary without a “massive expansion in unnecessary voting locations, which would have caused great financial burden to the Tarrant County GOP. “
“I am proud to say that after countless hours of meetings, phone calls, and negotiations, we have worked out a contract for the March 5th Republican Primary Election that will save our party over 10,000 man-hours and more than $125,000,” Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French said in a statement.
Tarrant County Election Administrator Clint Ludwig on Thursday confirmed that he and party had signed a contract for election services for the primary election, similar to what’s done in every primary election. The political parties in Tarrant County have historically held separate primaries, rather than joint ones.
A copy of the contract, obtained by the Star-Telegram through an open records request, confirms the contract was signed Thursday. The Tarrant County Democratic Party’s contract was signed Friday.
The Tarrant County Democratic Party said in a Friday statement its primary election will also be able to operate as usual, despite challenges associated with the new law.
“Early voting will carry on just the way that it’s done traditionally, same for Election Day,” Chair Crystal Gayden said in an interview, encouraging voters to cast ballots early to avoid possible lines on Election Day.
Ludwig in a Friday text said there will be 200 polling places on Election Day.
Ludwig had previously told the Star-Telegram that complying with a new law, Senate Bill 924, would mean twice as many polling places for the March primaries and millions in equipment costs for the county.
The bill lets counties with less than 1.2 million people that don’t use countywide voting to combine election precincts when a suitable voting location can’t be found. However, it’s written in a way that also effectively bars Tarrant and other counties with countywide voting from combining precincts’ voting locations the way they have in the past, changing how many polling places they’re required to have.
Ludwig said Thursday that the county had received guidance from the Secretary of State’s office that lets the county comply with the law while also having a “reasonable number of polling locations that does not put an excess cost on the county.”
A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s office confirmed that the office offered guidance to the county election office.
This story was originally published January 4, 2024 at 6:15 PM.
