A North Texas appeals court rejected a petition from a Dallas County republican trying to force the county to hold a precinct-specific Election Day for the upcoming primary election.
The petition came after former county GOP Chair Allen West agreed to countywide voting for upcoming runoffs — in the wake of a chaotic March election marred by confusion and legal challenges.
The filing from petitioner Barry Wernick, a Republican Party precinct chair and commissioners court candidate, requested the Dallas-based Fifth Court of Appeals order the county elections administrator to conduct the upcoming runoff Election Day with precinct-based polling places.
The judges declined Friday, finding they had no jurisdiction to do so. They also found Wernick had no standing for relief, in part because he won his primary race outright and wasn’t in a runoff.
He also was not a party to the election services agreement between the GOP's County Executive Committee and the county, the court said, calling Wernick "a stranger to the contract."
"(Wernick) is a party precinct chair and, therefore, a member of the CEC. He also serves as a chair of a committee of the CEC," Friday's opinion said. "But he is not the county executive committee, nor is he chair of the CEC."
The court did not weigh in on the merits of the challenge itself — namely, whether the contract to go back to countywide voting between the county and the GOP under West was valid.
Wernick said he was disappointed by the decision. In a thread on X, he said he was weighing his next steps including a possible appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.
✅ Over 80% of the CEC voted to enforce the only valid agreement and appointed me to lead that effort.
— Barry Wernick (@Wernick4Dallas) April 26, 2026
I take that responsibility seriously and will not back down from defending the sovereignty of the Executive Committee and the rights of Republican voters. 💪 pic.twitter.com/nCcwBV3Iea
Dallas County is in charge of early voting locations, and its rules stipulate Democrats and Republicans can vote at any location throughout the early voting process. The process for primary Election Day itself is controlled by the parties.
In recent years, the parties agreed to countywide voting on Election Day. But during March's primary, the Dallas County Republican Party chose to hold separate primary elections. That meant voters who were unaware of the change or unclear of their polling place were redirected to other locations — at least 13,000 people. It's not clear how many of those voters later cast their vote at the appropriate site.
That confusion led the Democratic party to file a legal challenge, and a Dallas judge issued a ruling on election night keeping the polls open another two hours for Democratic voters only. The lower court's ruling was later overturned by the Texas Supreme Court, and ballots cast after 7 p.m. on election night were set aside.
Two weeks later, West — acting as chair of the Dallas County Republican Party — agreed to go back to countywide voting for the runoff, saying his party "successfully executed" its primary but acknowledging the GOP could be exposed to "increased risk and voter confusion" if similar issues occurred for the runoff.
The move angered some in his party, and West abruptly resigned earlier this month just weeks after being reelected to his role as chair. In the first meeting since his departure the party voted to affirm its support for precinct-based voting, and called the change to countywide voting void.
Wernick's petition also alleged West's decision was invalid because it didn't have the support of the executive committee.
Early voting for the runoffs begins May 18 and can be done at any polling location in the county.
Election Day is May 26.
