Tarrant County commissioners approved a plan Tuesday to reduce the number of Election Day polling sites by 92 for the upcoming midterm elections, lowering the total from 316 in 2022 to 224 for this year. The decision, made by the county’s five-member Commissioners Court, was split along party lines, with three Republican members voting in favor and two Democratic members opposing the measure.
The county, which includes Fort Worth and serves 1.3 million voters, allows residents to cast ballots at any of the remaining polling locations. The cuts follow a similar reduction in early voting sites approved last year, when nearly half of those locations were eliminated ahead of the 2025 elections.
Supporters’ Rationale
County officials cited cost savings and operational efficiency as key reasons for the change. County Judge Tim O’Hare, a Republican who supported the plan, stated that the new arrangement would still exceed the statutory minimum for polling locations. He noted that the average distance between Election Day sites would be 1.56 miles, while early voting locations would average 2.85 miles apart. O’Hare also argued that the cuts would eliminate redundant polling sites, such as those placed directly across the street from one another.
Opposition’s Concerns
Critics, including voting rights advocates and local residents, warned that the reductions could disproportionately impact voters of color and those in majority-minority areas of Fort Worth and Arlington. The NAACP and ACLU of Texas argued in a joint letter that longer travel times to polling sites could suppress voter participation, citing research showing that each additional minute of travel can affect turnout. Local resident Catherine Godby testified at a public meeting, stating, “People have fought and died for the right to vote. It’s wrong to suppress that right.”
Political Context
The decision comes amid a high-stakes Senate race in Texas, where Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is challenging Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Tarrant County has emerged as a political battleground, having flipped from Republican to Democratic support in recent elections. President Donald Trump won the county in 2024 after Joe Biden carried it in 2020, and Democrats Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred narrowly won the county in the 2018 and 2024 Senate races, respectively, despite losing statewide.
Texas law grants counties the authority to determine the number and placement of polling sites, provided they meet minimum requirements. The county’s plan ensures compliance with these legal standards while reducing the number of locations from previous election cycles.