Keller | Roanoke | Northeast Fort Worth

377

Election

BY ADAM DOE

114

GRAPEVINE LAKE

Tarrant County will have 117 fewer Election Day polling places and 11 fewer early voting locations for the November election following the county court’s decision to cut the number of polling places at an Aug. 19 Tarrant County Commission- ers Court meeting. Precinct 3 Commissioner Matt Krause, Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez and Judge Tim O’Hare voted for the elimination of the voting centers, while Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles and Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons voting against the proposition. In a nutshell Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clinton Tarrant County cuts 117 polling Election Day sites

reduction in polling sites will save the county roughly $1 million, he added. What they’re saying “We couldn’t just take the 12-highest turnout locations and throw those on a map because it clearly puts them all in specic areas, and you have big gaps all over the map,” Ludwig said. “We also had to look at, how do we get locations spread around the county to ensure that there is accessibility.” “Everything was just driven by pure voter turnout, and I think that’s the right way to do it,” Krause said during the meeting. On the other hand Miles opposed the polling place cuts, saying they disenfranchise minority communities and the cost savings doesn’t justify the loss of voter access. “It’s not about money. It’s about access. If it’s only one person that goes to a voting site, so be it. That’s one person that got to participate in the democratic process,” Miles said. “Many of the closures are concentrated inside the 820 loop, leaving central Fort Worth, including historic Black

and brown neighborhoods, disproportionately aected.” Simmons also opposed reducing the number of polling places. Simmons attempted to delay the vote on reducing the number of polling sites because the commissioners did not have a chance to provide feedback or make recommendations to the elections department, Simmons said. “This plan presented today makes it harder for people to vote, not easier,” Simmons said during the meeting. “We’ve got a perfectly good list of polling places from 2023, use it.”

Ludwig presented a list of 214 Election Day polling locations for the Nov. 4 general election, down from 331 in 2023, according to county documents. Early voting locations were also reduced from 44 in 2023 to 24 in Ludwig’s new list. Simmons and Krause added nine locations to the list, bringing the total number of early voting locations up to 33. In the Keller, Roanoke and northeast Fort Worth area, Fort Worth Public Library at Golden Triangle was the only early voting site removed from the 2023 list and no new locations were added. After reviewing turnout and operations data, the elections department determined the county needed a minimum of 12 early voting sites to process voters on the busiest day of early voting. Ludwig recommended 24 sites with an option to add more, in an eort to maintain access to voting locations. The elections department used voter turnout data at each location to determine which sites to cut, removing the sites with the lowest turnout, while maintaining an even spread of polling sites throughout the county, Ludwig said. The

WESTPORT PKWY. Voting sites removed 1 Eagle Ridge Elementary School 2 Fort Worth Public Library - Golden Triangle 3 Independence Elementary School 4 Lone Star Elementary School 5 Hidden Lakes Elementary School 6 Indian Springs Middle School

TROPHY WOOD DR.

2025 Voting Sites

Roanoke

1 *Bette Perot Elementary School 2 Caprock Elementary School 3 *Freedom Elementary School 4 *Friendship Elementary School 5 Northpark YMCA | YMCA of Fort Worth 6 The Met Church 7 Woodland Springs Elementary 8 Light of the World Church 9 Bear Creek Bible Church 10 Keller Town Hall 11 Keller United Methodist Church 12 Ridgeview Elementary School 13 Westwind Church 14 John M Tidwell Middle School 15 Town of Trophy Club Town Hall & Police Department 16 O A Peterson Elementary

WOODLAND SPRINGS DR.

HASLET ROANOKE RD.

OTTINGER RD.

170

PRESTON LN.

BRAY BIRCH DR.

GOLDEN TRIANGLE BLVD.

KELLER PKWY.

Tarrant County Registered Voters

377

HERITAGE TRACE PKWY.

287

WALL PRICE KELLER RD.

1,4M

ALTA VISTA RD.

1,282,825

1,2M

WINTER HAWK DR.

GENERAL WORTH DR.

SHIVER RD.

800K

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Keller

SOURCES: TARRANT COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE, TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE COMMUNITY IMPACT

WESTERN CENTER BLVD.

WATAUGA RD.

MID CITIES BLVD.

KELLER 101 Keller Smithfield Rd S (817) 482-8295

WESTLAKE 2341 Highway 377 (817) 490-9072

CITADEL 9564 Citadel Way Dr (817) 200-3080