The Dallas County Republican Party Monday night agreed that changing the primary election runoff back to countywide voting was not authorized, and therefore, void.
County executive committee members said that the party’s former leader, Allen West, did not have authority to change the May 26 runoff Election Day voting to countywide.
Committee members, made up of county precinct chairs, passed resolutions saying the Dec. 31 contract choosing precinct-based, separate voting on primary Election Day remains in effect — and that they reject amendments West agreed to with the Dallas County Elections Department.
“We contracted with Dallas County Elections to run precinct-based voting on March 3 and on May 26 for the runoff,” precinct Chair Stan Woodward said at Monday’s meeting. “That's been taken away by our former chair and now the county. We’d just like that restored for the May 26 runoff.”
Woodward filed a complaint against West with the Secretary of State citing state election code and constitutional violations, and criminal offenses, including abuse of official capacity and impersonating a public servant.
He is also included in a petition filed Friday in the Fifth District Court of Appeals by resolutions committee chair Barry Wernick.
The petition asks the court to force Dallas County Election Administrator Paul Adams to hold precinct-based Election Day voting for the upcoming primary runoff, as agreed in the original December contract, and to disregard West’s change to countywide voting before he resigned as party chair on April 15.
Vice chair Tami-Brown Rodriguez is acting as interim chair until a new leader is chosen May 4.
West was re-elected in the March 3 primary.
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