Tarrant County commissioners approve early voting sites on college campuses
FORT WORTH, Texas - Tarrant County commissioners listened to four hours of public comment before approving a list of early voting sites that will include college campuses.
More than 100 people signed up to voice their concerns at Thursday’s Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting over a plan to cut some of the campus locations.
Ultimately, an effort to do away with early voting sites at several college campuses failed. It was a 4-1 vote in favor of keeping all eight early voting locations at college campuses.
Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare challenged voting booths at some campuses with diverse student populations, including UT Arlington, two Tarrant County College campuses and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
"If a college kid can’t walk across the street to vote or drive across the street, they can absolutely unequivocally go get curbside voting if they’re disabled," O’Hare said.
Some opponents of the measure accused O’Hare of voter suppression, noting the intent to leave intact a voting location at TCU, a conservative and majority-white university.
O’Hare reasoned the college sites were too close in proximity to other sites and a waste of taxpayer money.
"I think they were not expecting over 150 people to show up," said UTA student Rogelio Meixueiro. "I think that shows you that this county is changing."
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Tarrant County judge wants to close college campus voting locations in heavy minority populations
Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare wants to hold a special meeting to eliminate college campus voting sites in the Democratic commissioners' districts -- the same day they planned to be in D.C.
In the end, the commission voted to keep the sites as they are currently with one additional location.
The two Democrats on the commission, Alisa Simmons and Roy Brooks, cast their votes virtually while on a trip to Washington, D.C.
But it was the position of the other Republicans that caught some by surprise.
"I am proud of Commissioner Manny Ramirez, Commissioner Gary [Fickes] for keeping this what it should be: a nonpartisan issue," said UTA student Stacey Melo. "People should have access to voting and have easy access, and that’s what happened today."
Judge O’Hare was the lone vote against keeping the current list.