Tarrant County could slash 92 voting sites for November's midterm Election Day, raising concerns from democratic county commissioners and State Rep. James Talarico.
Commissioner Simmons and Talarico, the democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, held a press conference outside the University of Texas at Arlington's
Mavericks Activity Center on Sunday, a former voting location.
It comes as a proposed map for November's election includes 224 locations, cutting almost a third of the 316 sites used during the 2022 midterm elections. Three early voting sites would also be slashed.
Talarico told reporters cutting these sites could cause longer commutes, longer lines, and lower voter turnout on election day.
"We're here fighting for the rights of everybody," Talarico said. "The problem is when we let voting rights become a partisan issue. That's when we walk down a very dangerous path in this country."
Simmons said county leaders should be figuring out how to make voting easier for a county as big as Tarrant County — the 3rd most populous county in Texas.
"Dropping 92 election-day polling places is crazy," Simmons said. "We should not compare this proposal to the worst proposal. We should compare it to access that Tarrant County voters actually had in 2022."
The new proposed cuts come after commissioners unanimously agreed to table their vote on Election Day sites during this month's meeting.
Nearly half of all voting sites were proposed to be cut, sparking outrage from several residents and disapproval from all commissioners during August's meeting.
Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig, who proposed both maps, said during August's meeting the proposed map was made without any input from commissioners after residents accused Republican commissioners of coordinating the cuts and attempting to suppress voters, which they all denied.
Ludwig told commissioners in an email the new map is based on what facilities best meet the needs of voters with disabilities and operational standards.
In a press release, County Judge Tim O' Hare approved of the new map, calling it "sensible."
"As I've said from day one, no Tarrant County voter should ever feel they don't have enough time to vote," O'Hare said. "This is a sensible plan designed to ensure that, and I'm grateful to our elections staff for the work that brought us here."
Commissioner Roderick Miles, Jr. disapproved of the new map in a press release Saturday.
"Nearby does not always mean accessible," Miles said. "When government makes voting harder, government bears the burden of proving why. That burden has not been met."
Simmons said at Sunday's press conference some of the zip codes with the highest poverty rates in Tarrant County could lose voting locations with this new map.
"The communities where people are more likely to have fewer transportation options, less flexibility in their workday, and they are experiencing some of the largest reductions in vote centers," Simmons said.
Commissioners will vote on the new map for voting sites during Tuesday's meeting. Election Day is Nov. 3 and early voting is Oct. 19-30.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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