Texas Supreme Court rejects Travis County GOP appeal to replace poll workers

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Monday, the Texas Supreme Court rejected an emergency motion from the Travis County Republican Party (TCRP) that aimed to force the Travis County Clerk to replace election officials at polling sites on Election Day after the party alleged there was an imbalance of Democrat and Republican poll workers.

"Going forward, other remedies may be available if the county’s alleged violations of law can be established through a judicial process that is not hampered by the time constraints and practical considerations that limit this Court’s options on the eve of the election," the ruling said.

The same motion was denied last week by the Third Court of Appeals, after the court "dismissed as moot," generally meaning there is no longer an issue to resolve.

In a news release last week, the TCRP alleged nearly a quarter of polling sites in the county do not have any Republican alternate judges and half of the sites do not have any Republican polling workers for the morning or evening shifts.

The release also said the TCRP sent the county clerk’s office a list of 900 names of qualified Republican volunteers in June. The party alleged only 72 Republicans were selected for the 306 total clerk positions.

"The accountable thing to do is to have a Republican and a Democrat at the polls and no, you are not going to know who they are, they are not going to wear a red or blue hat, but again those of us paying attention we need to know what to tell our voters," Andy Hogue, the communications director of the Travis County GOP told KXAN Monday.

KXAN has reached out to the TCRP for an updated statement after the Texas Supreme Court ruling was released and will update this story when we hear back.

Meanwhile, a statement from Travis County Clerk Dyana Limon-Mercado said, "I am pleased that two separate courts have considered and concluded the lawsuits filed by the Travis County Republican Party. I'm incredibly proud of our bipartisan election team for their ongoing commitment to ensuring an open and accessible election for every eligible voter in Travis County. Now, it is time to focus on Election Day, and I look forward to delivering the results to Travis County tomorrow night.”

Dylan McKim contributed to this report.