Jasmine Crockett blames GOP for Dallas election chaos, says 'Voters were disenfranchised'

DALLAS, TEXAS: During Tuesday's closely watched Texas Democratic Senate primary, Rep Jasmine Crockett said that voters in Dallas County were “disenfranchised.”

She blamed Republicans for the confusion on election day, which she said would delay the final results and make the outcome of the race unclear.

Early election results showed that state Rep James Talarico leads in the Democratic primary for Senate on Tuesday evening as Democrats hope to pull off an upset in a state where they have not won a statewide race since 1998.

Texas Supreme Court rulings create confusion at Dallas County polls

Speaking to supporters late Tuesday, Crockett said a series of court rulings over polling hours created chaos at voting locations and left campaigns uncertain about which ballots would ultimately be counted.

“We were able to keep the polls open, but I can tell you now that people have been disenfranchised,” she said.

“The Supreme Court, just a few minutes ago, just said, shut it down. The Supreme Court also said that they are to separate any votes out that came in after 7 PM.

“We’re not going to have election results tonight, in my opinion, based upon, um, what specifically is taking place in Dallas County.”

Crockett said that voting hours in Dallas County were first extended to 9 PM because there were problems at polling places.

But she said that the Texas Supreme Court later changed that order, saying that polls should close at the usual time of 7 PM and that ballots cast after that time should be kept separate.

Jasmine Crockett blames Republicans for Dallas election delays

Dallas County is one of the biggest Democratic strongholds in Texas, and it could be very important in the primary race, which also includes state Rep. James Talarico.

Crockett called the county a “big dump of votes” and said that because things aren't clear, the overall race probably won't be decided on election night.

“Unfortunately, this is what Republicans like to do. And so they specifically targeted Dallas County and I think we all know why,” she said.

Crockett placed blame squarely on Republicans, arguing that the turmoil disproportionately affected heavily Democratic areas.

With James Talarico holding a single-digit lead, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett said voters were disenfranchised in Dallas County.

On the GOP side, Sen. John Cornyn and AG Ken Paxton are headed to a May runoff.

Thousands of Democratic ballots cast in Dallas County have been called into question after voting was extended by two hours at some polling sites before the Texas Supreme Court ordered ballots cast by voters who were not in line before 7 PM local time to be separated from the rest of the day's ballots.