Texas Democratic Caucus Isues 

 

Incidents reported to the Election Protection Hotline regarding the Texas Democratic Party Caucus/Precinct Convention included:

Long Lines

  • Caller was there since before 7:00 p.m. and described chaos at the caucus site.  An unidentified man, who appeared to be in charge, provided no help for caucus-goers, delayed passing out the paperwork and was "nasty."  Approximately 200-300 people showed up in a cafeteria but a number walked out because of the delay.  Eventually a blank sheet of paper was circulated that the remaining voters signed along with their preferences.  Many voters lack confidence that the results will be counted. 
  • At one location 400 people were still waiting to participate in the caucus one and a half hours after it started.
  • One caller reported that she was in line before 7:15 p.m. to caucus, but the line was so long she did not get to the door for more than an hour.  When she finally made it to the front, the door was locked and she was told she could not participate.
  • Despite a very long line and cold weather, one caucus site was only letting 20 people inside at a time. People were only being let in by precinct and couldn’t hear which precinct was being called.
  • At another location, regular voting did not end until 8:30 p.m.  There was little communication regarding the process, and many people had left without caucusing by 10:30 p.m.

 

Precinct Convention Location Problems

  • Multiple callers reported tow trucks towing cars, including one site in Dallas where people had to leave the caucus location to go outside to stop their cars from being towed. The caller reported that there were only 50 parking spaces for all of the voters/caucus goers.

Problems Taking Off Work/School

  • Multiple callers across the state reported that they could not get off of work or school to attend the caucus.

Early Voters Misinformed About Precinct Conventions

  • The Hotline received numerous calls from voters who had cast their ballots during the early voting period but were now confused about how to caucus.
    • One caller was turned away because he did not bring the yellow receipt that was given at the time he voted.

Insufficient Precinct Convention Materials

  • Multiple callers reported that there were insufficient sign in sheets, casting doubt on whether or not they would be able to participate. One location was reported to be using legal pads to sign in voters. 
  • Organizers at one location resorted to counting hands when the site ran out of ballots.

Primary-Caucus Transition Problems

  • Multiple callers reported that they showed up to vote in the primary before the polls closed, but ended up in the line for the caucus.  By the time they realized their error, the polls had closed and they were unable to vote.   
  • At one caucus site, the poll worker kept voters waiting to caucus 100 feet away from the polling place, even after the polls closed on time at 7:00 p.m.  She would not let anybody inside or allow tables to be taken outside.  Voters were filling out caucus forms in the dark, many using the light from cell phones.  The caller reported that the people in charge of the caucus did not seem to know what to do, and could not answer her questions.

Uninformed/Unprepared Poll Worker

  • One caller was told not to come back to vote in the caucus when she voted in the primary.  When she did go to caucus, the election workers refused to open the precinct back up.  After an uproar by voters, the election worker handed them a packet with only three sign in sheets (there were over 150 people there).
  • Multiple callers reported that poll workers could not give out the correct information about caucus rules.  Poll workers were telling voters they did not need to come back, were not specific about what proof voters needed to caucus, and did not know when the caucuses started.