Dem
52
Ties
2
GOP
46
As noted yesterday and above, Donald Trump is trying to disenfranchise as many Democrats as he can. But he is not the only one playing this game. Some states are doing it as well. That's federalism. Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, and is the third most populous county in Texas, after Harris County (Houston) and Dallas County (Dallas--did you expect San Antonio?) is also doing it. The stunt here is reducing the number of polling places form 316 in 2022 to 224 this year. The county's governing board made that decision on Tuesday. It was a 3-2 party-line vote, with Republicans voting for the cut and Democrats opposing it. There have been public hearings about this for months, with widespread public opposition.
The reason the Republicans gave is saving money. The real reason may be county demographics: 40% white, 31% Latino, 19% Black, and 7% Asian. Although Gov. Greg Abbott (R) won the county in the 2022 gubernatorial election, it was close, 51% to 47%, and the demographic trend is away from the Republicans. The board may be worried that in a blue wave, Democrats could win the county.
What is unsaid here is which polling places will be shut down. The board will undoubtedly do most of the closings in Black and brown areas, requiring Black and brown people to travel father to a polling place and wait longer in line to vote. Polling places served by local bus lines could be closed but those father out requiring a car to get to, could be spared.
This plan is complementary to the one above. In the above plan, the idea is to ban mail-in voting, forcing people to vote in person. This part of the plan is to make voting in person difficult in very carefully selected areas, naturally to maximize the Republican vote and minimize the Democratic vote. (V)