Texas County Moves Ahead With Plan to Cut Polling Places for 2026 Election

Tarrant County, in northern Texas, approved a new polling-place list on Tuesday, September 1, cutting the number of Election Day locations by 92 compared with the 2022 midterm elections. Commissioners approved the plan in a 3-2 vote.

The new list includes 224 polling places for Election Day and 47 for early voting. In 2022, the county used 316 locations on Election Day and 50 during early voting. More than 100 people spoke during a meeting that lasted over eight hours, and most opposed reducing the number of available voting sites.

County Election Administrator Clint Ludwig defended the proposal, saying the distribution would still allow people who want to vote to do so. He also said some locations used in 2022 were unavailable or no longer met legal requirements this year.

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The distribution would allow people who want to vote to have the opportunity to do so.

More than 1.3 million people are registered to vote in Tarrant County. Specialists noted that the debate is taking place as the county becomes more electorally competitive, after historically serving as a Republican stronghold.

The vote followed party lines. County Judge Tim O’Hare and Republican commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez supported the list. Democrats Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. opposed it. Simmons, who is challenging O’Hare for county judge, said the reduction had a political component. Democratic efforts to restore sites, including the Maverick Activity Center at the University of Texas at Arlington, failed. O’Hare said no Tarrant County voter should feel they lack enough time to vote. The Texas general election is scheduled for November 3, 2026.

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No voter in Tarrant County should feel that they do not have enough time to vote.