Duncanville City Council members are recommending the closure of five of the city’s 11 Election Day polling locations, citing low use.
Tuesday’s discussion comes as the Dallas County Elections Department prepares for local elections in May.
The five locations – Daniel Sr. Intermediate School, Alexander Elementary School, Brandenburg Intermediate School, Central Elementary School and Duncanville High School Performance Hall – all had fewer than three dozen votes cast in last May’s election, when the mayor and three city council seats were on the ballot. Brandenburg had the lowest voter turnout with eight votes.
“There’s a lot of these that are just that close to one another and … it's a waste of the taxpayers’ money, simply,” Council Member Don McBurnett said.
City Secretary Chiquita Taylor said the cost of running 11 sites, including paying staff for 12 hours of work on Election Day, cost the city almost $28,000 last year.
The city’s one early voting site at the Duncanville Public Library, which had 3,248 voters in the May 2024 election, will remain open.
Duncanville leaders were responding to a request from the county to identify underused polling sites. They say they also took into consideration proximity to another site.
Council member DeMonica Gooden ultimately supported the council’s recommendations, but said the closures give her “concern and pause.”
“I want to make sure that every citizen has access to be able to exercise their right to vote,” she said.
Taylor will meet with Dallas County Elections officials to present the council’s recommendations.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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