U.S. Senate Candidate Brandon Brown released the following statement on Tuesday's voting issues in Texas:
"What unfolded in Texas tonight was chaos by design.
"We’ve seen this before. What happened in Dallas echoes the Jim Crow playbook. In Dallas County, hundreds of voters were turned away after last-minute changes eliminated countywide vote centers and required ballots to be cast only at assigned precincts. Voters who had previously voted at any location suddenly found themselves ineligible at the very sites they had used before.
"I was on the ground in Dallas when reports came in detailing malfunctioning machines, connectivity failures, and long lines that left voters uncertain whether they would be able to cast a ballot before polls closed.
"A local judge temporarily extended voting hours after voters were turned away through no fault of their own. But the Texas Supreme Court stayed that order, meaning ballots cast after the original 7:00 PM deadline may not be counted.
"Let that sink in.
"Voters followed instructions. Voters showed up in good faith. A court then moved the goalposts.
"Members of Congress, including Jasmine Crockett, publicly raised concerns about voters being disenfranchised. National outlets, including the Associated Press, documented the confusion and the legal battle as it unfolded in real time.
"This is not about party politics. This is about the heart and soul of democracy. When rules are changed without adequate notice, it suppresses the vote.
"When voters are turned away because of bureaucratic shifts, it suppresses the vote.
"When courts threaten to invalidate ballots cast during a court-ordered extension, it erodes trust in democracy itself.
"The right to vote is sacred. It does not belong to courts. It does not belong to political parties. It belongs to the people.
"Every voter who showed up in good faith deserves to have their ballot counted. Anything less undermines confidence in our elections and weakens the legitimacy of the outcome.
"Democracy only works when every vote counts.
"And tonight in Texas, too many were put at risk of not being counted at all."