Questions as to whether Texas might move its primary from March into April appeared resolved late on Tuesday when the House amended a voting bill to keep the March primary intact. Turns out the uncertainty might not be over quite yet. Under the current arrangement, local May elections and early voting for primary runoffs would be just two days apart.
Senate Bill 100, which passed the House on third reading Wednesday, is aimed at trying to make it easier for military and overseas voters to cast absentee ballots. Federal law requires that Texas make the changes.
One of the bill’s byproducts? An overhaul in the state’s carefully-scripted election calendar. The biggest issue has been whether SB 100 and its longer absentee-ballot deadlines would force the state to change its primary date, which is currently held in the first week of March in even-numbered years.
Rep. Van Taylor , R-Plano , has proposed moving the primary date into April. The later date, the thinking goes, will allow elections administrators more time to prepare ballots for all the various local, state and federal contests they are responsible for. (National Republican leaders also are urging the state to move its primary).
Full Article: Possible voting-date complications remain with absentee voting changes | Trail Blazers Blog | dallasnews.com.
