After controversy over college polling sites, Tarrant County students work to increase turnout

UTA is one of the largest campus early voting locations in Tarrant County, with over 9,700 people casting their early vote for the presidential election there in 2020. County Republican and Democratic leaders alike have said every vote counts in terms of what color the battleground county will turn in the presidential election and down-ballot races. President Joe Biden narrowly won Tarrant in 2020, while Republicans continue to hold all countywide offices.

After Tarrant County switched to countywide voting in 2019, the number of voters casting early ballots at college or university campuses increased significantly.

In a pitched battle this September, UTA and other campus voting sites were potentially on the chopping block. The effort, led by Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare, would have removed up to four college polling sites from the county’s list of early voting sites. O’Hare cited concerns over the accessibility of campus voting sites and said commissioners should not cater to any one demographic group.

“That doesn’t seem like the right way to run an election,” O’Hare said. “That seems like it’s trying to favor one group over another. Not voter suppression.”

UTA’s Maverick Activities Center, along with early voting sites on Tarrant County College’s South and Northeast campuses and at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, were among those considered for removal. The move prompted outcry from students and university staff across the county.



https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/24/tarrant-county-college-campus-voting-locations/