GOP chairs from 19 counties have sent a joint letter to the Texas legislature, urging lawmakers to support legislation aimed at closing primary elections.
The letter begins by expressing strong support for House Bill 951 and Senate Bill 2646.
HB 951, authored by State Rep. Mike Schofield (R-Katy), would amend the Election Code to require that voters declare party affiliation to vote in said party’s primary elections. It would introduce criminal penalties for intentionally voting in one party’s primaries without first declaring affiliation.
SB 2648 was authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) and mirrors HB 951’s provisions.
“These critical pieces of legislation will ensure that our Republican primary elections align with the rules adopted by the Republican Party of Texas by closing the primaries to those who do not affiliate with our party,” the letter reads.
“The principle of party integrity is foundational to the democratic process,” it continues. “Our party, like any other private organization, has the right to determine its nominees without interference from those who do not share our values or principles.”
The chairs’ letter points out that while rules set at the Republican convention declare that GOP primary elections are to be closed, current laws still allow participation by voters who do not align with the party’s principles.
“This disconnect sets up unnecessary conflict between the Republican Party and the Secretary of State, undermines the will of our grassroots voters, and likely weakens the conservative policies that Texans overwhelmingly support,” it reads.
The letter was sent jointly by the GOP chairs of the following counties: Tarrant, Williamson, Harris, Dallas, Travis, Potter, Rockwall, Hood, Upshur, Rusk, Shelby, Somervell, Robertson, Colorado, Wood, Kerr, Frio, Jackson, and Crane.
Advancing Integrity President Christine Welborn told Texas Scorecard that “Closing the primaries would increase accuracy in our elections by making sure that Republicans are electing Republicans and Democrats are electing Democrats so that we don’t have interference from either party on either side sabotaging each other’s primaries.”
“It would be incredibly helpful to have state law agree with what the Republican party has already decided so that we don’t have a mess once we get to 2026,” she added.
