Tarrant County votes to run the midterms with 92 fewer polling places than in 2022
Tarrant County, Texas commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a plan that results in 92 fewer Election Day polling locations than the county had during the 2022 midterms.
What happened
The three Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted for the plan and the two Democrats voted against it; the vote covers polling sites for early voting as well as Election Day. County officials say the plan would save resources by eliminating low-turnout sites, noting voters would still have more than 200 locations where they could cast ballots, and Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare said it avoids “the wasteful practice of placing polling sites directly across the street from one other.” Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig has said the reductions would allow the county to eliminate locations that serve few people, and O'Hare said the plan exceeds the statutory minimum, adding that some locations were changed because buildings were no longer operable and for ADA requirements. Dozens of residents spoke against the proposal at the Tuesday meeting. Before the vote, the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union joined voting rights groups in signing a letter urging the county to reject the proposal, saying the closures would be strongly felt in areas with high percentages of minority voters.
Why it matters
Polling-place counts are a capacity decision: they set how far a voter travels and how long a voter waits, in a politically competitive county. Texas law lets each of the state's 254 counties decide how many polling places to use, so this check sits with county government, and the reduction is measured against the 2022 midterms rather than against a lower recent baseline.