Hi, friends!

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act enabled representation of Latino and Black communities across the state for decades since it was signed into law. Yesterday’s SCOTUS decision could have an effect at the very local level, and I’m looking into what the implications are. I’ll have more details on that in the coming days.

And this week, we published a story that I spent weeks reporting about the chaos and confusion during the March 3 primary election in Dallas, Williamson, and Eastland counties.

Many voters in those counties couldn’t find their correct polling location and, in some cases, that left them unable to vote on Election Day. Election officials fielded call after call from angry and frustrated voters who wanted to know why. I watched commissioners' court meetings where poll workers and voters grilled county leaders about who allowed it and why it wasn’t stopped.

The answer is, our state law allows local political parties to call the shots on where voters cast ballots on Election Day and more. Taxpayers foot most of the bill, and there’s not much county officials can do about it. Texas appears to be the rare state that still permits this, and lawmakers are unlikely to change that. Find out why in my story.

What are your thoughts about how primaries work in Texas? You can reach me at [email protected]. And if you know anyone who might dig this kind of reporting, encourage them to sign up for the newsletter! They can do that here.

The Big Story

Political parties in Texas choose how to run their primaries. Here’s how that causes headaches for voters.

Parties have control, taxpayers foot the bill, and voters have little recourse, but lawmakers are unlikely to change Texas’ current primary election system.

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