U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has paused the Republican Party of Texas lawsuit that seeks to limit voting in the party’s primary to Republicans, writing that the Legislature may amend the law on its own and that the courts need not resolve the question first, The Texas Tribune reports. The party filed the suit about a year ago against then-Secretary of State Jane Nelson.
Texas does not register voters by party. Under current law any registered voter in the state may choose either party’s primary ballot on the day they vote, and the party’s suit seeks to change that for its own primary. The case is on hold rather than decided, and nothing about how voters take part in a primary changes as a result of this order.
Why This Matters in the Lake Houston Area
Harris County voters, including those in Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Huffman, Summerwood and Fall Creek, pick a primary ballot at the polling place under the present system rather than being assigned one by registration. A change to that rule, whether it came from a court or from the Legislature, would change how primary voting works here.
The change would not affect the general election on November 3. Early voting in Harris County for that election runs October 19 through October 30, and the voter registration deadline is October 5. See Early Voting in Harris County for the November 3 Election Runs October 19 to 30.
