GOP ‘rejects' Racist Label in Spat With Democrats Over Lawsuit to Remove 128 Candidates From Ballot

Dallas County Democrats and Republicans are exchanging sharp barbs, including accusations of racism, in the wake of a GOP lawsuit that seeks to oust 128 Democrats from 2018 election ballots.Democrats contend the Republicans' lawsuit is an attempt to "disenfranchise" the county's minority voters, the base of the Democratic Party by charging that Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Carol Donovan's signature was forged on 182 ballot applications.That point was made clear in the local party's response to the lawsuit, filed late Wednesday."This lawsuit constitutes a cynical attempt by the Dallas County Republican Party to: (a) use publicity concerning this frivolous lawsuit to confuse voters in the hope of disenfranchising minority voters; and (b) deny Dallas County citizens the right to vote for the candidates of their choice," wrote Dallas lawyer Randy Johnston in answer to the GOP lawsuit.In a news release earlier, Johnston said Democrats were evaluating whether the Republican Party lawsuit violates the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. He said thelawsuit appears calculated to deny minorities the right to vote for candidates of their own ethnicity and disproportionately harms minority Democratic candidates. "The true intent of this lawsuit is to cause confusion among the voters. The Republican Party needs to accept the fact that elections are determined by the voters, not by lawsuits," Johnston said. "We cannot tolerate this attempt to disenfranchise voters from this process."  Continue reading...