University of Texas at Arlington

Tarrant County commissioners voted Tuesday on a revised proposal to reduce Election Day polling locations, scaling back an earlier plan after pushback. The new version sets 224 Election Day sites and 47 early voting locations, up from the original proposal's 176 and 42, respectively, but still well below the 316 and 50 used in 2022. County Judge Tim O'Hare, a Republican, says the plan exceeds the statutory minimum and reflects declining low-turnout sites, ADA needs, and building availability.

Democrats, including U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and Commissioner Alisa Simmons, argue the cuts—nearly a third of Election Day sites—will lengthen lines and commutes and disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic voters, who make up large shares of the county's 1.3 million registered voters. The NAACP and ACLU also urged rejection of the plan. Texas law leaves polling-site decisions to individual counties, and similar reductions have occurred elsewhere in the state. The dispute comes as Talarico challenges Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate in November.