AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans promised new voting rules would make it “easier to vote and harder to cheat.” But as the dust settled Wednesday on the nation’s first primary, voters in both parties had their ballots caught by the changes.
By and large, Texas' primary that put the 2022 midterm election season in full swing saw no significant issues at polling locations Tuesday under typically low turnout. But although most races were decided by Wednesday, counties that had rejected thousands of mail ballots for not complying with Texas' strict new election law still do not know how many will end up counting.
That answer is still likely days away, and for Republicans who rushed to put in place new voting laws across the U.S. after the 2020 elections, the stakes go beyond Texas as the GOP pushes back against accusations of trying to suppress likely Democratic voters. But there is little question the changes in Texas caused hurdles for even Republican voters, who accounted for roughly 40 percent of all mail-in ballots.
