After making drastic cuts, Tarrant commissioners refuse to add voting locations
Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons proposed adding seven early voting centers to the current list of 33. She also proposed adding 37 Election Day sites to the present group of 214 at Wednesday’s Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting.
Both actions failed.
At their last meeting, the commissioners voted along party lines to approve a shortened list of Election Day and early voting locations for the Nov. 4 election. With the exception of Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, the commissioners agreed to add nine early voting locations to the initial list of 24 sites.
The expanded list of 33 early voting locations is still a fourth shorter than the 44 sites open in 2023, when the last odd-year constitutional amendment election was held. Election Day sites fell by more than a third, from 330 to 214. Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig told the court on Aug. 19 that the initially proposed lists were the “bare minimum” he would recommend.
Ludwig said the cuts were made to reduce costs, with low turnout rates in mind.
Simmons didn’t buy the reasoning.
“Think about a fire station,” Simmons said at Wednesday’s meeting. “There could be a fire station that doesn’t have a fire and doesn’t have calls for service. Do we shut those down because they hadn’t responded to a fire in two or three days? No.”
All of the polling locations Simmons recommended would help minimize “voting deserts.” She said both lists were cleared by Ludwig, who said there were “no issues” with the locations.
Thirteen speakers encouraged the commissioners to approve the additions. More signed up to speak but did not show.
“The closing of polling locations under the pretext of cost savings is really a transparent ploy to reduce or lock down voting at historic low levels at the very moment when voter anger over the racial gerrymander of this court and of our state’s congressional delegation threatens or promises to make those numbers higher,” Ken Shimamoto said.
Michael Collins was the sole speaker who opposed having more voting locations in the interest of fiscal conservatism.
“I may not look it, but I’m an elderly person,” Collins said, “and I don’t have no problem getting out to a polling place and vote. Every time there’s a vote is due, it’s time to vote. I’m out there.”