Tarrant County Approves 224 Election Day Polling Sites, Cutting 92 From 2022
Updated
Updated · The Texas Tribune · Sep 1
Tarrant County Approves 224 Election Day Polling Sites, Cutting 92 From 2022
3 articles · Updated · The Texas Tribune · Sep 1
Summary
A 3-2 party-line vote approved 224 Election Day sites and 47 early-voting sites for November, despite more than 100 speakers opposing the reductions during an eight-hour meeting.
County elections administrator Clint Ludwig said some 2022 locations were unavailable or failed statutory and accessibility requirements, and that the new map concentrates sites where voters have historically cast ballots.
Democratic commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. tried to restore locations including UT Arlington's Maverick Activity Center, but Republicans rejected each change and said demands to keep all 316 prior sites were arbitrary.
Voting-rights advocates and 30 civic groups argued the cuts would hit Black and brown neighborhoods, students and a county with more than 1.3 million registered voters; chants of "shame" followed the vote.
The decision came after commissioners delayed action in August over an even smaller proposal, and it lands in a closely watched county where Nov. 3 turnout could shape a competitive midterm.