1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to immediately investigate the voter suppression that occurred during the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary in Dallas County, Texas, and take action to prevent similar tactics from undermining the November general election. Dallas County had successfully used countywide vote centers since 2019, allowing voters to cast ballots at any convenient location. The Dallas County Republican Party, led by Chair Allen West, eliminated this system and forced a return to precinct-based voting that hadn't been used in years. Under Texas law, when one party makes this change, the other must follow. This forced Dallas County Democrats into a system that created predictable chaos. Despite extensive outreach by the Dallas County Elections Department, between 50 to 100 percent of voters at some locations were told they were at the wrong place on election day. The Texas Democratic Party reported approximately one third of all voters experiencing problems. The state's website provided inaccurate location information. Veronica Anderson, 66, walked 2.5 miles to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center only to be told she was at the wrong precinct and needed to go to an unfamiliar location. When a district court judge ordered polls to remain open until 9pm to remedy this harm, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senate himself, filed an emergency motion to block the extension. The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court struck down the judge's order. Ballots cast by voters who weren't in line by 7pm remain in legal limbo with no determination of their validity. This pattern is clear: the government created the problem, the state's website gave bad information, a court ordered a remedy, and the Attorney General killed the remedy. Dallas County is the second-largest county in Texas and overwhelmingly Democratic. If these tactics are deployed in a March primary, November's general election could see far worse suppression efforts. I urge you to investigate these events immediately and ensure that every eligible voter in Texas can cast a ballot that counts in November.