Spat between local Democrats, Republicans could jeopardize voting for March 2024 primaries

Ella McCarthy and Hogan Gore, Austin American-Statesman
·4 min read
Signs urge people to vote outside Old Quarry Branch Library on Election Day in November.
Signs urge people to vote outside Old Quarry Branch Library on Election Day in November.

A rift between the leaders of the Travis County Democratic and Republican parties could jeopardize where local voters cast a ballot in the March election, which includes a presidential primary.

The local branches of the parties have for years entered into a joint contract for a county-wide election, which allows Travis County residents to vote at any polling place in the county. Negotiations usually don't draw much attention.

This year, however, the Travis County Democratic Party says the local Republican Party has for months caused "chaos and confusion" during negotiations by contemplating a return to precinct-by-precinct voting and the hand-counting of some ballots.

It's a sentiment staunchly contested by the county's Republican party leaders.

Matt Mackowiak, chair of the Travis County Republican Party, told the American-Statesman, "It's a paranoid freak out that has no basis."

"Our draft primary contract included Countywide Voting," Mackowiak said in a statement. "We are going back and forth with edits and hope to complete the primary contract in the next day or so."

Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado told the American-Statesman that last week the Travis County Republican Party sent them a contract proposal and that it was unclear if they were proposing a joint or separate primary.

A counter proposal for a joint primary was sent to both parties on Monday, Limon-Mercado said. Both parties have confirmed they received the draft but neither have sent a draft back or an affirmative response as of Wednesday afternoon.

There is no deadline for a contract to be reached, Limon-Mercado said.

A contract was entered for the March 2022 primaries in Travis County by Nov. 30, 2021, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Katie Naranjo said at a news conference Wednesday. The contract was approved by the Travis County Commissioners Court in the first week of December that year.

The first day to apply by mail for a ballot in the March primary is Jan. 1, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website, and the first day of early voting is Feb. 20.

Naranjo said she feels there is still time for the parties to reach an agreement, but if they have to take legal action, the Travis County Democratic Party is prepared to do so.

"Our goal is to be in a contract by the end of this week," Naranjo said.

Similar legislation died in the state House last session

Earlier this year, the Republican-dominated state Senate approved a bill to entirely eliminate the county-wide polling program, which began in earnest with several participating counties in 2008 and has since been utilized by 91 of Texas' 254 counties, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, filed Senate Bill 990 out of a concern that county-wide polling contributes to "vulnerabilities in election security and frustrates chain-of-custody measures."

That argument was harshly contested by Democrats at the time, and again at Wednesday's news conference, as party members accused Republicans of continuing efforts to deny and overturn election results.

"You have no evidence to prove anything that you're saying," Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, told Hall as the measure advanced to the House along party lines in April.

The Secretary of State's office prior to the start of the legislative session in January made available to lawmakers a report detailing the statewide success of the county-wide voting program, only recommending the program take into consideration the impacts of providing multiple voting locations for smaller, localized elections.

SB 990 ultimately went unheard in the House.

Wednesday, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, expressed frustration that the successful voting program has continued to come under partisan scrutiny.

"This is a next iteration of these conspiracy theories that is now bubbled up into procedural chaos," Eckhardt said.

U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, calling the attempted change in voting an overall effort to discourage voting in Travis County, said Texas has been "ground zero" for voter suppression measures as the Legislature has tightened parameters on early and mail in voting along with increasing the penalty for illegal voting to a second degree felony earlier this year.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Republicans, Democrats in stalemate over election contract