The Pittsburgh Press (September 14, 1944)
Fourth termers oust Texas rebels
Dallas, Texas (UP) –
Pro-Roosevelt Texas Democrats had ridden roughshod over all opposition today to oust 15 presidential electors who had announced they would not cast their votes for a fourth term for the President.
In complete control of a hectic Texas Democratic Convention, the pro-Roosevelt group yesterday substituted 15 electors favoring the Roosevelt-Truman ticket – making a full slate of pro-fourth tern Democratic electors to cast the 23 Texas Electoral College votes.
With former Governor James V. Allred – an ardent fan of the President – in charge as chairman, the convention also ousted all party officials known to oppose a fourth term and completely revamped the state Democratic organization before adjourning at 5:00 p.m.
A court test was certain. The 15 ousted electors, named with eight pro-Roosevelt electors at a state convention last May, said they would go to the State Supreme Court. Mr. Allred agreed the dispute would end in the courts but said, “We are ready.”
The drastic action in removing from their posts the 15 electors who had announced they would vote in the Electoral College for Senator Harry Byrd (D-VA) or some other Democrat, but not for Mr. Roosevelt, came as a surprise. Earlier, leaders planned only to substitute electors for those among the original 23 who refused to sign a statement agreeing to vote for the Roosevelt-Truman ticket if normally-Democratic Texas goes Democratic again this fall.