Tarrant County Approves 92 Fewer Election Day Polling Sites Than in 2022

Tarrant County, Texas, has approved a plan to reduce Election Day polling locations ahead of the November midterms, moving forward despite warnings from voting-rights organizations that the changes could make voting harder for residents already facing transportation and financial barriers.

NBC News reported the approval on September 1. The plan provides 224 Election Day locations, compared with 316 during the 2022 midterms—a reduction of approximately 29%. Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, is Texas’ third-most-populous county and home to more than 2 million people.

The decision follows a month of public opposition and revisions. On August 4, commissioners unanimously postponed an earlier proposal that would have reduced Election Day locations to 176. Even Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare objected to the size of that initial reduction. Residents who testified against it argued that a growing county should expand access to voting rather than reduce the number of places available. Fort Worth Report, published by The Texas Tribune

County officials have defended consolidation as a way to concentrate resources and eliminate lightly used locations. Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said he used turnout figures from the 2022 midterms to develop the initial proposal and adjusted his calculations to account for stronger participation in this year’s primaries. That explanation did not satisfy Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who argued that the reductions would limit voter access. The Texas Tribune

Ahead of the September vote, county officials said the revised approach prioritized accessible locations near bus stops. They also said the average distance between Election Day sites would be 1.5 miles. That figure describes the spacing between polling places, however, rather than the distance each voter would need to travel from home. Associated Press

Civil-rights organizations challenged both the practical consequences and the legal justification for the reductions. In an August 28 letter, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project and other organizations warned that the proposed closures would particularly burden Black, Latino and Asian American communities. They identified south and southeast Fort Worth and central and eastern Arlington as areas of concern. The organizations’ letter

The groups argued that additional travel, longer waits and time away from work or caregiving could discourage participation. They also disputed the county’s authority to combine election precincts in the circumstances described, a step connected to the number of polling places required. Those are the organizations’ legal allegations, not a court ruling. Their letter urged commissioners to preserve existing locations and consult affected communities before making reductions. The organizations’ letter

For residents preparing to vote, the immediate task is to check the current location list rather than assume a familiar polling place will be available. Tarrant County allows registered voters to use any Election Day vote center within the county, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Its election website provides location information, voter lookup tools and a link to polling-place wait times. Tarrant County Elections

The county lists October 5 as the voter-registration deadline, with early voting running October 19–30 and Election Day on November 3. As those dates approach, the implementation of the reduced polling network—including where locations remain and how voters learn about changes—will determine what the decision means for residents trying to cast a ballot. Tarrant County election calendar