{"id":451855,"date":"2026-09-30T06:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451855\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T06:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T06:12:08","slug":"arlington-city-council-urges-tarrant-county-to-reconsider-polling-site-cuts-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451855\/","title":{"rendered":"Arlington City Council urges Tarrant County to reconsider polling site cuts | City"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arlington<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Arlington city manager Trey Yelverton, left, Mayor Jim Ross, center, and city attorney Molly Shortall smile during a meeting Sept. 29 at the City Council chambers. The Maverick Activities Center is one of the polling sites that have been removed for the upcoming election.<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

The Arlington City Council voted 7-1 on Tuesday to approve a resolution requesting that the Tarrant County Commissioners Court reconsider the reduction of polling places for the November 2026 election and future elections. <\/p>\n

The resolution responds to the Sept. 1 Tarrant County Commissioners Court decision to reduce polling locations for the November 2026 election, according to a city staff report. <\/p>\n

Council member Mauricio Galante, who voted in opposition, said although the Maverick Activities Center early voting location was cut, the city typically offers free ride-share services to voting locations through Arlington On-Demand. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can justify that we have transportation free for anybody that wants to vote,\u201d Galante said. <\/p>\n

He said the Tarrant County Commissioners Court made a financially responsible decision, adding that making polling locations more efficient should be a priority. <\/p>\n

\u201cTarrant County made the math and chose what was best,\u201d Galante said. <\/p>\n

\"City<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

City Council member Jason Shelton speaks to the audience during a meeting Sept. 29 at the council chambers. The council voted to pass the Tarrant County November 2026 Election Polling Places resolution.<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

When compared to the November 2022 election, Election Day voting locations in Arlington under the new list decreased from 59 to 37, and early voting locations decreased from 7 to 6, according to the staff report. <\/p>\n

The resolution urges the commissioners court to consider the restoration of the UTA polling place and to preserve equitable access to the ballot while making fiscally responsible decisions. <\/p>\n

Council member Brittney Garcia-Dumas said a governing body should not make it more difficult for voters to access their voting location. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime you’re the one making it more difficult for people to vote, you’re the bad guy,\u201d Garcia-Dumas said. <\/p>\n

\"City<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

City Council member Mauricio Galante talks to the audience during a meeting Sept. 29 at the council chambers. Galante opposed a resolution calling for consideration of alternatives to reducing the number of polling places ahead of the 2026 election.<\/p>\n

Photo by Maricela Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n

She said removing the voting location on campus may affect students, professors and administrators wanting to cast their votes. <\/p>\n

Mayor Jim Ross said the council should be making it easier for residents to vote, especially those with lesser means. <\/p>\n

\u201cVoting is a right that we should not take for granted in today\u2019s world,\u201d Ross said. <\/p>\n

@_xioany_<\/p>\n

news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arlington city manager Trey Yelverton, left, Mayor Jim Ross, center, and city attorney Molly Shortall smile during a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[992,116,118,117,287],"class_list":["post-451855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-city","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}