Tarrant County, Texas, has walked back a proposal to cut its Election Day polling locations from 316 to 176, reversing course after public backlash. [1] The plan would have removed 140 sites, roughly 44 percent of the county's Election Day locations, before officials dropped it. [1]
Simmons, who opposed the plan, called it an intentional effort to make voting harder. "This is a deliberate act to reduce voter access," Simmons said. [1]
The reversal restores the county's existing footprint of polling places, at least for now. [1]
What remains unresolved is that the reduction was proposed in the first place. Nothing in the reversal prevents a similar cut from returning in a later election cycle, which leaves Tarrant County voters relying on a decision that was reached only after public pressure. [1]
