Tarrant County voters sue to block GOP polling site cuts targeting minority communities

Key Points:

• Tarrant County voters filed an emergency lawsuit accusing Republican officials of deliberately reducing Election Day polling places from 316 in 2022 to 224 for the November general election, disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic communities.
• The lawsuit challenges the county's decision as violating the Texas Constitution and state election law, citing examples where heavily nonwhite ZIP codes lost most or all polling sites, and accuses officials of ignoring their own rules to retain high-use locations.
• Plaintiffs link the polling place reductions to a controversial mid-decade redistricting by Tarrant County Republicans, which altered commissioner precinct demographics and voting site allocations in a way that concentrates minority voters in fewer precincts.
• The complaint alleges county officials failed to follow Texas Election Code requirements, including soliciting input from minority voters when adopting the methodology for selecting voting centers.
• The plaintiffs seek a court order to compel the county to adopt a lawful methodology, obtain minority input, reconsider the polling site plan, restore the eliminated sites, and hold an expedited hearing before Election Day, without canceling the election.