Officials in Tarrant County, Texas, voted Tuesday to reduce the number of polling sites for this fall's midterm elections, a plan that Democrats and voting rights advocates say could disenfranchise voters of color and create confusion in a politically competitive county.
The commissioners approved a proposal that results in 92 fewer Election Day polling locations compared with the 2022 midterms, leaving the county with 224 polling sites to serve 1.3 million voters, a roughly 30% reduction, according to NBC News. Voters in the county are still able to cast ballots at any of those polling sites.
Tarrant County, the state's third-largest with more than 2 million residents, includes Fort Worth and borders Dallas. It has emerged as a key battleground in the S. Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. On Sunday, Talarico urged the county to reject the plan.
"The most powerful people in this county, the most powerful people in this country, don't want us to be able to vote easily," Talarico told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
The NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and other groups said in a letter that the changes would hit voters of color hardest because many of the reductions are in majority-minority areas in Fort Worth and Arlington. Research has found that each additional minute of travel time to a polling location can affect voter participation.
Dozens of voters urged the commissioners to vote against the cuts. Some criticized the elimination of specific polling places, such as one at the University of Texas at Arlington, while others noted the county's significant population growth and increased voter participation in recent years.
"The right to vote is the bedrock of our democracy," said Linda Northern, a speaker at the meeting. "This will make it harder for brown, Black and low-income voters to have the same right to vote as you do. This is wrong."
Tarrant County Commissioner Roderick Miles, a Democrat, added ahead of the vote: "This is about ensuring that the rights that people bled and died for are accessible to everybody."
Supporters of the plan say it will save money and that there are more than enough options for people to vote. Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare, a Republican on the commissioners court, argued that Miles wanted more polling sites in his area.
"There's no argument to that that you can come up with other than you want to be able to have more in your precinct," O'Hare said.
A handful of speakers supported the plan, noting that some sites were used by few voters and required a significant number of poll workers and financial resources. One speaker, who did not identify herself, said: "I support the proposition that's in front of us as far as reducing the number of voting sites. I've been a poll watcher, a poll worker, a precinct chair and all those things, and when you vote, when you go to a poll place that had 34 people all day long, you think this is kind of a waste of resources."
County officials say the plan would save resources by eliminating low-turnout sites, noting voters would still have more than 200 locations to cast ballots. Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig has said the reductions would allow the county to eliminate locations that serve few people. Locations near bus stops that complied with federal accessibility standards were prioritized to remain open.
Rep. Matt Shaheen, the Republican chairman of the House Elections Committee, dismissed accusations that the reductions amount to voter suppression. "We're clearly not trying to suppress the vote," Shaheen said. "That's a silly accusation."
County elections officials say closing polling locations is not a new trend in Texas. The trend has been accelerated by countywide voting and difficulty recruiting poll workers. Other Texas counties have also considered or already reduced the number of polling locations for November, while some have added more.
Texas law gives counties the power to decide how many polling sites they use. Tarrant County adopted countywide voting in 2019 but did not immediately reduce its sites. In recent years, some counties have moved to fewer polling sites as they embraced countywide voting.
Paxton's spokespeople did not respond to emails requesting comment, according to PBS.