Plan to trim number of polling sites in a big Texas county draws protests

Key Points:

• Tarrant County, Texas, plans to reduce its polling locations by 92 for the November midterm elections, citing resource savings by eliminating low-turnout sites while maintaining over 200 voting locations.
• Democrats, including state Rep. James Talarico, and voting rights groups like the NAACP and ACLU, oppose the plan, arguing it could suppress votes, especially in minority communities that make up a significant portion of the county's population.
• County officials emphasize the plan prioritizes accessibility by keeping locations near bus stops and complying with federal laws, with an average distance of 1.5 miles between polling sites.
• Texas law allows counties to determine their number of polling places, and while some counties have reduced locations, others have increased them; Tarrant County adopted countywide voting in 2019 but is now consolidating sites.
• Critics warn that fewer polling places could discourage voter participation due to inconvenience, while officials argue the changes are not intended to suppress votes but to improve efficiency and reduce redundancy.