Tarrant County commissioners will decide Tuesday on how many voting locations to offer for the Texas Senate District 9 runoff election<\/a> on Jan. 31.<\/p>\n At the time of publishing, staff recommended 142 Election Day locations and 21 early voting sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n The vote follows a November election that saw reduced polling locations compared to previous odd-numbered year elections, as Republican commissioners cut 100 Election Day polling places<\/a> and 11 early voting locations. That brought the Nov. 4 election\u2019s total to 215 Election Day locations and 33 early voting locations.<\/p>\n Despite those reductions, the election saw record-high turnout<\/a>. About 119,000 people voted in the Senate race.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tarrant County offers countywide voting<\/a>, meaning residents of Senate District 9 can cast votes from any location, even those outside the district.<\/p>\n Republicans said the site reductions were to save about $1 million. Democratic commissioners and meeting attendees criticized the cuts as voter suppression that disproportionately impacted communities of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neither Republican commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez, nor GOP County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare, responded to the Report\u2019s requests for comment. Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who opposed the reduction with Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr., also did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Krause previously said November\u2019s high turnout reinforced the belief that reducing polling sites was good for the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt saved money, but it also allowed everybody who wanted to vote to vote,\u201d he said after the election.<\/p>\n The runoff\u2019s proposed list includes locations concentrated in and surrounding District 9, which covers much of the northern half of Tarrant County.<\/p>\n The race for Texas Senate is expected to be a tight one<\/a> between Democrat Taylor Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, and Republican Leigh Wambsganss, chief communications officer for the Patriot Mobile wireless service provider.\u00a0<\/p>\n In November, Rehmet came within 2.4 percentage points of winning the seat outright in a three-way race that saw his two challengers split the GOP votes.<\/p>\n Rehmet\u2019s lead came after a campaign season that saw him largely playing the role of an underdog<\/a>. Wambsganss and Republican candidate John Huffman outspent Rehmet by millions<\/a>, mostly focusing their attacks on each other. Republicans have held the Senate seat since 1991.<\/p>\n Of the Nov. 4 Election Day voting sites located in Senate District 9, one will not be used in January \u2014 River Oaks City Hall, where nearly 60% of the 240 voters this fall cast ballots for Rehmet.<\/p>\n All but three of the 21 early voting locations going before commissioners are located in Senate District 9. Other locations outside of the district are excluded from the initial list of potential runoff locations.<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n