Members of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court unanimously agreed Tuesday that a proposal to nearly halve the number of Election Day voting locations was out of left field and far too drastic. The decision on a proposed list was tabled by the commissioners until a later date, likely the Sept. 1 meeting.
A proposal to reduce the number of early voting sites was also tabled, another moment of unity on an often-divided commissioners court.
Under the proposed list, Tarrant County would have had 55% of the Election Day polling sites for this November’s midterm election compared with the number there were in the 2022 midterm election. Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare said the proposed number of 176 locations was too low.
“If anyone had come to me and asked me if I was OK with 176 voting locations on Election Day, I would have said no,” said O’Hare, who added that he found out about the proposed cuts last week.
Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said he came up with the number by apolitically looking at the map of election precincts and determining how many voting locations would be adequate with an increased turnout.
Ludwig outlined his methodology for configuring the 176 Election Day sites, which was done in a way that ensured there were 44 polling places in each commissioner precinct. On average, he said there are 1.3 miles between voting sites. Twenty-eight of the voting sites are within 1,000 feet of a bus stop.
He used a similar process to determine the location of early voting sites, prioritizing high turnout polling places on Election Day and during early voting.
O’Hare acknowledged challenges with polling places that have been sites in the past, but don’t want to do it this year or can’t legally be a voting location based on requirements passed by the state.
“I still think it’s too low, but I appreciate that you had a formula and went about doing it in a manner that showed some semblance of attempts to do it in a way, with something that made sense,” O’Hare said.
While being questioned by O’Hare earlier in the meeting, Ludwig said he did not run the proposed number of Election Day sites by members of the Commissioners Court to see if they support the change.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons later pressed Ludwig on his rationale for cutting the number of sites.
“I went with the math,” Ludwig said, adding that politics were not a consideration. “It was simply what do we need? How do we go above and beyond that? Does that fit into creating an even distribution so that we’re going to have access, be able to run a secure election, and then bring that number forward.”
Simmons described the proposal to cut Election Day polling places as “a deliberate act to reduce voter access.”
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons joins protesters outside of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court chambers after they are kicked out on Tuesday, Aug. 4, in Fort Worth. Abigail Dollins Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ludwig disagreed with the idea that the cuts were deliberate, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Matt Krause called Simmons’ comments a “mischaracterization.”
“I think Clint’s doing exactly what we tasked him to do,” Krause said. “I know there’s conversations that could have been had at the outset, but his job is to look at what state statute says, look at the population, look at the precincts and come up with a number.”
Ludwig is just giving his recommendation, Krause said.
“Then we get to act on it,” he said.
Ludwig told commissioners he’d come back with a number that everyone’s more comfortable with.
Ahead of the commissioners’ discussion and delayed vote, there was a flood of opposition from residents, politicians and voting right groups.
Of the 70 public commenters who came to the microphone Tuesday, one supported the list as proposed. The other 69 called it un-American, voter suppression and an attempt to select who could have a voice in elections.
O’Hare booted members of the public from the room for the meeting for disrupting decorum, instead inviting speakers to address the commissioners one-by-one. Impromptu protests broke out outside the room.
O’Hare also asked sheriff’s deputies to remove Base Mego for picking up a microphone and arguing with the judge and told them to arrest former State Rep. Lon Burnam, who picked up the mic in support of Mego. Five people were kicked out of the meeting total.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published August 4, 2026 at 4:20 PM.
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Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
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Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She’s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years.
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