{"id":49969,"date":"2026-09-01T11:58:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49969"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T18:58:44","slug":"talarico-protests-as-texas-swing-county-plans-to-close-92-polling-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/09\/01\/talarico-protests-as-texas-swing-county-plans-to-close-92-polling-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico Protests as Texas Swing County Plans to Close 92 Polling Places"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"US-POLITICS-VOTE-TEXAS\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Democratic candidate for US Senate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally as part of the “New American Dream Tour” in Beeville, Texas, on August 22, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most powerful people in this county, the most powerful people in this country, don\u2019t want us to be able to vote easily.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aug 31, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas<\/a> Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is pushing<\/a> for one of Texas\u2019 most important swing counties to drop plans to close nearly a third of its polling places before November\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid public outcry, the Commissioners Court for Tarrant County\u2014which contains Fort Worth and borders Dallas\u2014plans to hold a vote on Tuesday on whether to shutter 92 of the polling places used in the 2022 election, many of which serve the city\u2019s poorer and minority populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If Democrats flip the Senate this November, the road to that outcome will almost certainly run through Texas. A Democrat has not won a statewide election there since 1994, but Talarico may be in a position to break the trend\u2014leading Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in most polls<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarrant County narrowly supported then-Rep. Collin Allred, the Democratic challenger to Sen. Ted Cruz<\/a> (R-Texas) in 2024. Talarico said the closure of polling places was meant to suppress turnout and help Republicans<\/a> cling to their advantage in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most powerful people in this county, the most powerful people in this country, don\u2019t want us to be able to vote easily,\u201d Talarico said<\/a> at a press event Sunday, during which he argued that the closures would result in longer travel for voters and lower turnout, especially in heavily Black and Latino communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here fighting for the rights of everybody,\u201d Talarico added. \u201cThe problem is when we let\u00a0voting rights<\/a>\u00a0become a partisan issue. That\u2019s when we walk down a very dangerous path in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X post: https:\/\/x.com\/gromerjeffers\/status\/2094164451146510632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2094164451146510632%7Ctwgr%5Ea004a043c64c072c75a919efc01127b6c9f3475a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Ftexas-closing-polling-places<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proponents of the closures have described them as a way for the county to save money, rather than a political tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re clearly not trying to suppress the vote,\u201d state Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-66), the chairman of the Texas House Elections Committee, told the Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s a silly accusation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Republican officials in Tarrant County have, in the past, explicitly tied closures of certain voting locations to partisan aims. In 2024, Republican County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare attempted, unsuccessfully, to remove several early voting sites on college campuses, a move that the county\u2019s GOP<\/a> chairman said<\/a> would have been \u201ca serious win for Republicans in Tarrant County.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025\u2019s off-year elections, Republicans voted 3-2 to reduce the number of polling locations by more than a third and cut funding for free bus rides to the polls for low-income residents. The previous year, they introduced<\/a> new rules blocking what they derided as \u201cleft-wing\u201d groups from registering voters inside county buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the state level, meanwhile, Texas has carried out unprecedented mid-decade redistricting<\/a> to hand more US House<\/a> seats to Republicans at the behest of President Donald Trump<\/a>. And following Trump\u2019s false assertions that his loss in the 2020 election was marred by fraud, Texas introduced several new restrictions<\/a> on mail-in voting that were found to have significantly reduced turnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday\u2019s scheduled vote in Tarrant County comes after commissioners opted to table an earlier proposal that would have shuttered nearly half the county\u2019s polling places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0of that plan showed that the lowest-income third of ZIP codes would lose nearly 58% of their Election Day polling sites, while the highest-income third would lose just under 22%. Majority-minority ZIP codes would have lost nearly 52% of their polling places, while majority-white ones would have lost just a third of theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know about the \u201cupdated list\u201d of Tarrant County polling sites on the chopping block at this Tuesday\u2019s Commissioners Court meeting.

Go to https:\/\/t.co\/BONfcWuBmI<\/a> and sign our petition to keep voting locations open NOW.#VoteAlisaSimmons<\/a> #CountyJudge<\/a>\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Td4hurfwHV<\/a><\/p>— Alisa Simmons (@CommALSimmons) August 30, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>