Some voters in Sunnyvale say they couldn't cast ballots for candidates in their city
SUNNYVALE (CBSNewsTexas) - Early voting for the May municipal elections in Dallas County got off to a rough start as dozens of voters reported being unable to cast ballots for mayor and city council in their own city.
Sunnyvale resident Lauren Becker, hasn't missed voting in an election since moving to Sunnyvale 15 years ago yet she was among those turned away.
"I've grown up in this town. I get excited about our local elections as much as our statewide and national elections, and usually like to knock out voting on day one," said Becker.
When she went to vote, Becker was told by Dallas County election workers that she didn't qualify to vote for candidates running for mayor and city council in the town she lives in.
"I was very surprised at first and then it was a disenfranchised feeling for me," said Becker.
Other voters also posted about also being turned away.
The issue was caused by a miscoding of precincts, leaving those in the area marked 3500 temporarily ineligible, according to the Dallas County Elections Department.
This incident is the latest in a series of mishaps involving the DCED. An audit conducted last year found more than 180 phantom voters on the rolls, and weeks prior to that, ballots were sent to polling sites without space for write-in candidates.
Sunnyvale is a small town where even a handful of votes can sometimes determine the outcome of elections. One Sunnyvale candidate informed CBS News Texas that they were told by the Secretary of State's office that voters should have been given provisional ballots instead of being turned away.
Becker was able to return later in the day and cast her vote, but she expressed concerns that other Sunnyvale voters may not bother to come back.
"From what I understand trying to get this worked out today that there was a backlog of calls and complaints," said Becker. "It makes me think there must be an issue in other precincts and other polling locations than Sunnyvale, Texas, which worries me more than anything."