As Republicans face increasing headwinds with the midterms on the horizon, conservatives in Texas are launching what appears to be yet another illiberal power grab. And the shadow of Jim Crow looms large.
Democratic officials and civil rights activists are denouncing a proposal that would shutter more than 100 polling places in Tarrant County, home of Fort Worth and one of the state’s most heavily populated counties. The vote comes as the GOP openly frets about the possibility of Ken Paxton losing his Senate race to James Talarico, and it also comes as Texas Republicans seem to be at risk of losing at least one House race in a district they gerrymandered to give their party an edge in the midterms.
The proposal, which Tarrant County’s GOP-controlled Commissioners Court is expected to consider Tuesday, has faced backlash in Texas for weeks, including at public hearings.
Voters in Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth, may have fewer places to vote this Election Day as the Commissioners Court weighs whether to close 140 Election Day locations, an effort that some see as voter suppression.
“I think this is also a signal from the state as our demographics change in Texas, as more of our races get called toss-ups in national media,” said Emily Eby French with Common Cause Texas. “I think Tarrant County is a signal to the rest of Texas that they are going to try to suppress turnout if they aren’t sure they’re going to like the results.”
If approved, the change would cut the number of Election Day voting locations from the 316 sites used during the 2022 midterm election to 176 sites this year. Tarrant County election officials say the decision is driven by cost and low voter turnout.
The proposal reeks of white supremacist voter suppression tactics that have been deployed throughout history. In fact, Texas — where influential conservatives have been known to associate with white supremacists and Nazi sympathizers — has been a leader in shuttering polling places, particularly in places with large nonwhite populations, ever since the Supreme Court gutted key portions of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.
Over the weekend, Talarico held a press conference alongside Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, and he warned that the proposal to close many of the county’s polling places could mean “longer commutes, longer lines and lower voter turnout, especially in our Black and brown communities.”
Several activist groups and social organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Campaign Legal Center and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, co-signed a letter to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Friday that essentially made the same argument.
“This proposal is not a minor administrative adjustment; it is a choice about whose participation the County will facilitate and whose participation it is willing to burden,” the letter says. “Efforts to suppress the political participation of Black, Latino, and AAPI voters — or any voters — cannot be excused or justified as ‘fiscal responsibility’ or ‘administrative convenience.’”
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