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Dallas, Tarrant county judges believe voting issues on Super Tuesday will help prepare for upcoming elections
In Dallas and Tarrant counties, some people waited in line close to three hours after polls closed to vote on Super Tuesday.
DALLAS - In Dallas and Tarrant counties, some people waited in line close to three hours after polls closed to vote on Super Tuesday.
Issues during the first significant election in with new countywide voting systems included voting machine and staffing problems.
Results for some of the races were so delayed that candidates did not find out if they won until Wednesday morning.
Both county judges said there needs to be more training, and that large turnout played a role in the delays.
Super Tuesday was the first major election where countywide voting in North Texas was put to the test.
Voters could go to any polling location, rather than using your traditional precinct,
“What we saw is slow returns in all large urban counties in Texas because a variety of factors,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.
The change was met with long lines at some precincts in Dallas and Tarrant counties.
Some voters stood in line one to two hours after polls closed at 7 p.m.
[REPORTER: “What was the hold up in the slow returns from Dallas County?”]
“Several factors,” Jenkins responded. “We had a judge who went home and left their stuff locked up at a polling place. We had one quit during the day. That accounts for a small amount. It’s a confluence of events. We had to hire a lot of temporary workers who have never done this before, at the last minute, because the parties didn't fill their slots as they normally do.”
A lack of poll judges and internet issues plagued Dallas County, Jenkins added.
Over in Tarrant County, Judge Glen Whitley said their problems were about voting machines and the amount at polling locations.
He said the last vote was cast at 10 p.m.
“They make the decisions on where the locations will be and how the machines are going to be allocated. Over our objection, they said they wanted a specific number of machines for Democrats and specific for Republican, and they didn't want to have just one machine that either side could walk up to,” Whitley said.
Whitley said this is the second time workers used the new voting machines, and believes staff needs more training.
Both counties waited until midnight or later to submit returns to the Texas Secretary of State’s Office.
“It’s more important that we get it right than to go back and say, ‘Oops.‘ We don't like oops. We were slow and that's something we have to work on,” Whitley added.
Judge Jenkins said that while the process was not ideal, it will help them adjust for what’s expected to be a possible record turnout in November.
“You will see improvements in November, but let’s not forget we had tremendous turnout. Countywide voting was a smashing success in Dallas County and the counties that did it. We saw a big increase that did it,” Jenkins added.
Jenkins said lessons learned from Tuesday will mean improvements for November.
Colin County also experienced some delayed votes.
Statewide, Harris County had the biggest issues. It took the last voter seven hours to cast his vote in Houston.