1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to express my deep concern about the voter suppression that occurred during the recent Texas primary election and to ask what specific actions you will take to ensure this never happens again. This was the first election conducted under Texas's new election laws, and the results were disastrous for voter access. Democratic voters in Dallas and Williamson Counties faced significant barriers to casting their ballots. Joyce Vance, a law professor at the University of Alabama, documented these problems in detail and characterized the situation as flat-out voter suppression designed to deny people their right to vote. The confusion stemmed from changes to designated polling places that were not adequately communicated to voters. Local Republican parties abandoned the years-long tradition of holding joint primaries, forcing Democratic voters to determine their polling place locations on election day itself. One voter was sent from their original polling place to another location 15 minutes away, only to be told to return to the original location. This is unacceptable in a functioning democracy. When a lower-court judge ruled that polling places should remain open for an additional two hours due to the confusion, the Texas Supreme Court overruled this decision and ordered that any ballots submitted after the original deadline be separated. This response prioritized procedural technicalities over protecting the fundamental right to vote. I need to know what concrete steps you will take to address this crisis. Will you support legislation to require adequate public notice of polling place changes? Will you advocate for joint primaries to prevent this confusion? Will you push for extended voting hours when systemic failures prevent voters from accessing their polling places? The right to vote is foundational to our democracy, and I expect you to fight to protect it for all Texans.