Reason No. 4: The most stupid reason for blocking countywide Election Day voting to allow late night GOP insider meetings
- jscholz302
- Aug 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 20
Today we’re talking about the most stupid of the six reasons the Denton GOP county chair objects to countywide Election Day voting. She’d rather frustrate thousands of voters who show up in the wrong place to vote on Election Day than change the day and time of a late night meeting held by party insiders once every 2 years, something the GOP chairs in 99 other Texas urban counties have agreed to.
These meetings are called “precinct conventions.“ They are held once every 24 months in GOP polling locations late at night on primary Election Day after the polls close and all the votes are tallied and sent to the Elections office. Very few people show up at these late Tuesday night meetings, where they select delegates to the county party convention. The Denton GOP chair says that if these meetings are not held late on every Tuesday primary Election Night at closed polling locations, it would “weaken the civic structure.”
In the other Texas counties — with 85% of Texas voters — that have countywide Election Day voting, the Republican Party holds precinct conventions at other times and places, and the party – and the county civic structure -- generally seems to be doing pretty well, despite the change. Tarrant County reports that they have higher attendance at precinct conventions now that they have moved them to an early evening a few days after the primary.
In any case, it’s not the convenience of any political party that should determine voting rules or locations. This GOP objection is really about valuing the convenience of GOP party insiders over the needs of voters.
When most voters learn that their choice of where to vote on Election Day is determined by one political party’s preference for an insider meeting, they are stunned. Many get angry.
If that’s your reaction, please sign the petition now.
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