Tarrant County Voters Sue Over GOP-Led Suppression of Polling Places Targeting Communities of Color
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Voters in Tarrant County have filed a lawsuit against officials after a Republican-majority court slashed 92 polling sites, a move that disproportionately harms Black and Hispanic residents and violates election protections.
A coalition of Tarrant County voters has launched an emergency lawsuit to confront the county’s latest attack on voting rights: a plan to operate only 224 Election Day voting locations for the November general election, slashing 92 sites compared to the 2022 midterms. The plaintiffs are demanding an expedited hearing and an injunction to force the county to reconsider this undemocratic plan before ballots are cast.
This lawsuit directly challenges a decision rammed through by the GOP-dominated Commissioners Court in a 3-2 vote, ignoring the voices of residents and the court’s two Democratic commissioners. County Judge Tim O’Hare and Commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez, all Republicans, pushed forward with the cuts, disregarding the clear harm to marginalized communities.
The complaint lays bare how these closures disproportionately burden Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. In ZIP code 76103, where nearly 80% of residents are people of color, all three polling locations used in 2022 have been eliminated. In ZIP code 76115, with almost 90% non-white residents, four out of five sites were axed. This is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters of color.
Plaintiffs further argue that the county flouted its own rules for preserving high-traffic polling sites. They identified 46 locations that saw more than 500 votes on Election Day in 2022, yet these were eliminated in direct violation of the county’s own mandate: 'Locations where more than 500 votes were cast on election day will be placed on the keep list.' This is not just oversight—it’s a calculated move to suppress turnout in communities that threaten the GOP’s grip on power.
The complaint connects these reductions to a recent redistricting scheme that packed Black and Hispanic voters into a single precinct, diluting their influence elsewhere. The county also ignored requirements in the Texas Election Code to solicit input from minority-voter groups when selecting voting centers, further marginalizing these communities.
The plaintiffs seek a court order forcing the county to adopt a fair and lawful methodology, obtain input from minority-voter groups, and reconsider the 224-site list, including restoring the 92 eliminated sites. They are not seeking to cancel the election, but to ensure it is conducted fairly and without racial bias.