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Dallas County Republicans return to countywide voting for runoff elections after primary confusion

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Dallas County Republicans return to countywide voting for runoff elections after primary confusion


After voter confusion on primary election day in March, Dallas County Republicans want to change how the May runoff elections will work.

Dallas County GOP returns to countywide polling sites

What we know:

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The Dallas County Republican Party announced it wants to return to countywide elections for the May 26 runoff elections.

For the March primary elections, Republicans had requested a split primary. That decision split the two parties’ voting locations instead of holding a joint election with countywide voting centers. Polling locations were instead determined by precincts.

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Dallas County GOP Chairman Allen West released the following statement on the change.

“I have made the decision that seeking to do precinct based operations for the runoff Election Day exposes the DCRP to increased risk and voter confusion. From the end of April through May there will be municipal elections and early voting for the runoff. All of these elections are countywide voting. To then shift for the one day runoff election to precincts would bring about large scale disruption. This week I will sign an amended contract for the DCRP to execute non-joint countywide runoff election.”

The Dallas County Elections Department confirmed that both parties appear in agreement on countywide voting locations in May.

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Split primary causes confusion on election day

The backstory:

The split primary led to confusion for Dallas County voters on March 3, mainly from Democrats.

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Many voters were turned away from their usual polling locations due to the change. An error on the Texas Secretary of State’s website gave voters incorrect information on polling locations and led to even more people being turned away, and the Dallas County website crashed with voters trying to figure out where they could vote.

Based on the early confusion, Dallas County Democrats asked for and received a court ruling that extended voting hours in Dallas County until 9 p.m. for Democrats.

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Ten minutes before the new deadline, the Texas State Supreme Court overruled the Dallas County judge, meaning that any of the around 2,000 votes cast after the original 7 p.m. deadline did not count.

Dallas County Democrats respond

The other side:

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Dallas County Democrats ridiculed the change in a statement, saying the change is “a clear admission that their own election changes were a failure.”

“After causing chaos on Election Day, Republicans are now scrambling to undo the damage they created,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder. “For months, Democrats warned that forcing a return to a precinct-only system during Election Day would confuse voters, create long lines, and turn people away from the polls, and that’s exactly what happened. This was a completely avoidable failure that wasted taxpayer dollars and undermined voter confidence.”

“Now that the consequences are impossible to ignore, Republicans are suddenly trying to remember what it means to serve the people. Texans shouldn’t have to endure manufactured crises just so politicians can score points with their base. Democrats will continue fighting to ensure every voter can cast their ballot freely, fairly, and without unnecessary barriers.”

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Explaining the change

Dig deeper:

FOX 4’s Amelia Jones talked to Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at SMU, about why both parties will be happy with the change.

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“It’s not clear what the party really gained from preventing countywide voting on Election Day in the first place, and we know that some voters in Dallas County were confused,” Wilson told Jones. “I think Democrats will be happy with this change. Democrats never really wanted to go to precincts limited voting on Election Day in the first place, that was primarily a Republican initiative.”

The runoff election between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton for the Republican nomination for Senate might have gone into the party’s decision to return to countywide polling. Wilson says countywide voting could increase voter turnout for Republicans.

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“That will be the main thing driving turnout during the runoff cycle. And so, yeah, I think definitely calculations surrounding that were central to the party’s decision-making in this case,” Wilson said.

What’s next:

The Dallas County Elections Department says both parties were given amended contracts to implement the changes. Once finalized, more information will be shared with voters, including voting locations and election schedules.

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The runoff elections are scheduled for May 26.

The Source: Information in this story came from statements from the Dallas County Republican Party and the Dallas County Democratic Party, as well as FOX 4 reporting.

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2026 ElectionsTexasTexas PoliticsDallasDallas County



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Federal, local agencies tout results of North Texas anti-crime operation before World Cup

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Federal, local agencies tout results of North Texas anti-crime operation before World Cup


With a little more than two weeks until the first FIFA World Cup match in Dallas, local and federal law enforcement agencies announced Wednesday the conclusion of a major operation targeting organized crime in North Texas.

Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF Dallas, FBI Dallas, Dallas police, Frisco police and other agencies said Operation Red Card focused on violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking networks ahead of the international tournament.

Officials said the operation lasted about 10 weeks and involved efforts to seize drugs and firearms, arrest offenders and disrupt criminal activity.

“It is evident that this operation has been an extraordinary success leading up to the FIFA World Cup,” said Ryan Raybould, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

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Raybould said the operation resulted in about 250 indictments.

Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux praised the coordination between local and federal agencies.

“Right here, this is what right looks like. Us, working together to keep everyone safe in Dallas,” Comeaux said. “I love working with my federal partners and U.S. Attorney’s Office for us to continue to keep everyone safe in Dallas.”

Comeaux said fugitive operations tied to the U.S. Marshals Task Force have led to more than 1,300 arrests involving felony warrants.

“We’re over 1300 arrests of individuals that don’t belong on the streets because of felony warrants,” he said.

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The chief also discussed the department’s drone program and preparations underway before the first World Cup match.

“We’re trying to get everything set up before the first game. It’s a lot of moving hands when it comes to that,” Comeaux said. “Right now, we have eight drone docking stations up. And we are using them now when it comes to first responders.”

“And listen, when those drones are up, you can see clearly different criminal activities that are taking place,” he added.

Federal enforcement operations have faced scrutiny nationwide in recent months. Raybould addressed questions about balancing heightened security with maintaining a welcoming atmosphere for visitors.

“They are vigorously enforcing the law but they’re also great men and women that are representatives of the institution that they represent, and they do ton of outreach events, they do reentry events,” Raybould said. “So that’s their job. I expect that to continue.”

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Jake Holmes, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, also addressed immigration enforcement and drug trafficking investigations.

“Tackling illegal immigration and tackling drug trafficking are really one in the same fight,” Holmes said. “Multiple drug houses, based on intelligence we received, revealed that networks of people in the United States are leveraging their connection back in their home countries.”

Joseph Rothrock, FBI special agent in charge, said officials used security planning from previous Super Bowls as a reference point for the World Cup, though he noted the scale of the tournament is much larger.

“Here in Dallas, that’ll be more matches than any other host city in the United States,” Rothrock said. “As far as comparing this World Cup to previous World Cups, it really doesn’t compare. It’s the first time that we’ve seen the World Cup hosted in three different countries.”

Raybould said Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal initiative focused on reducing violent crime through partnerships with local agencies, will continue beyond the World Cup. He said the program has been in place for 20 years and uses local crime data to identify areas needing additional enforcement resources.

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Why is George Pickens back in the news? Because Emmitt Smith made it so

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Why is George Pickens back in the news? Because Emmitt Smith made it so


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George Pickens hasn’t been in the news for a week now, so something had to break and it came in the form of a Cowboy legend giving him advice on how to handle his contract situation.

There is also speculation that this year will be his last with the Dallas Cowboys and the last year in the silver and blue for a former Texas Longhorn linebacker. CeeDee Lamb and coach Brian Schottenheimer are also in the news, or what passes for it in late May in the NFL.

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Here are some Cowboys headlines.

George Pickens, Emmitt Smith

The NFL’s all-time rushing leader and Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith went on to the NFL Network’s The Insiders show and shared his opinions about George Pickens’ situation. Pickens’ contract status has been a major storyline this offseason and he is now set to play on a one-year franchise tag.

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Indications are he wasn’t a long-term contract (as anyone would), but Jerry Jones has not opened negotiations on this. Smith’s advice to Pickens is something Cowboy fans hope Pickens follows.

Smith said: “I would say to George Pickens right now, you just ran into the business side of sports, period. There’s nothing else but pure business. Try not to take it personally. I know you will, because I would take it personally too, but shuffle that energy to your performance because I think your performance itself is going to speak a lot louder than anything else.”

Meanwhile, the blog Inside the Star predicts Pickens, as well as linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, will not be with the team in 2027.

Of Pickens, Mark Heaney writes, “We’ve seen the front office be unwilling to even negotiate a long-term deal, likely due to the issue of paying two wide receivers at the top of the market. In theory, the Cowboys could franchise tag him again next offseason, but consecutive tags mean a 120% increase from the previous year’s salary; that’s unsustainable for the organization. Instead, I think we see him dealt for some compensation ahead of the 2027 NFL Draft.“

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DeMarvion Overshown

Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, a Texas Longhorns product, has tantalized Cowboys fans when he’s been healthy, but that hasn’t been much. He missed all of his rookie year in 2023 with a blown-out knee, which came after several strong preseason games.

He blew out his knee again late in the 2024 season, which caused him to miss the first half of the 2025 season.

Mark Heaney of the blog Inside the Star predicts that this coming season, one way or another, will be Overshown’s last in Dallas.

He writes: “The other guy, DeMarvion Overshown, is a genuine fan favorite, and it is easy to understand why. Former Texas Longhorn, electric, high-energy player when healthy, true team leader. That all resonates with the Dallas faithful in a significant way, but it doesn’t change the facts around his situation, especially when it comes to health.

”Overshown has had major struggles with staying on the field, and if he comes asking for a big bag in 2027 after more issues this year, Dallas will say no.

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”On the flip side, his elite potential could result in a huge year that, similarly to Pickens, prices Dallas out from extending him to a long-term deal. The addition of Jaishawn Barham in the draft adds another layer to it, as he should be able to replace Overshown next year.”

CeeDee Lamb

Last week new New York Giants coach John Harbaugh, took a shot at the Dallas Cowboys at New York’s town hall event, saying, “All I care about is tomorrow’s practice, because if tomorrow’s practice is the way it’s supposed to be, that will be one more step in the direction of being a good enough football team to kick the Cowboys’ ass.”

Evidently mocking Harbaugh fell to receiver CeeDee Lamb, who went on Instagram to post a rather understated, “lol that’s cute.”

This being May, that was enough to grab some headlines and get his name back in the news.

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Dallas Cowboys coach

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer will enter his second year as head coach, marking his fifth year with the club. He is now looking to sell his McKinney home for $3.8 million in order to move closer to the Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco (McKinney is about a half-hour drive from Frisco).

“It really is just time being closer to work, and every minute counts, when you’re at that level, for him,” listing agent Carrie Himel told Neil Franklin of the Dallas Morning News.

For those interested, the house is listed at 5,700 square feet.

Dallas Cowboys tickets 2026

Seat Geek is the official partner of the Dallas Cowboys, so this is where to get official tickets. The Cowboys are also offering packages for the Week 3 game in Rio de Janeiro against the Ravens, ranging from $1,200 to $5,750. That doesn’t include airfare, and the cheap rate doesn’t include a hotel.

Other places to buy tickets, which will be more expensive but with a much larger selection than the official tickets, include StubHub, Ticketmaster and Vivid Seats. Those sites also offer tickets for away games.

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Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.



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Dallas Police Provide Update on Tuesday Morning Homicide

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Dallas Police Provide Update on Tuesday Morning Homicide


The Dallas Police Department is investigating the shooting deaths of three people at a party being held at a short-term rental on Tuesday morning.

The department posted a video update to social media hours after the incident occurred.

According to DPD, police responded to a shooting call in the 3700 Vilbig St. at around 12:28 a.m. The preliminary investigation found that four people had been shot at a party being hosted at a short-term rental.

Two of the victims died at the scene and one died at the hospital. The fourth victim is in stable condition. All of the victims are adults.

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At this time, police have not made an arrest and are still carrying out a preliminary investigation. Police said there was not a threat to the general public, but a suspect had fled the scene.

As of Monday, there had been a total of 74 homicide offenses recorded by Dallas police in 2026. That includes seven justifiable homicide offenses, 55 murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses, and another 12 negligent manslaughter offenses.

This time last year, the department had recorded 79 homicide offenses, including five justifiable homicides, 64 murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses, and another 10 negligent manslaughter offenses.





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