A Tarrant County district court judge heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit seeking to force the county to restore polling locations that were cut ahead of next month’s midterm election, with both sides clashing over whether enough time remains to make any changes before early voting begins.
The lawsuit was filed by several residents including Fort Worth City Council member Deborah Peoples. Plaintiffs are urging the 96th Judicial District Court to intervene after county commissioners approved a plan reducing Election Day polling sites by 92 locations compared to the 2022 midterms.
Judge Patrick Gallagher began hearing the case at 9:30 a.m. and proceedings were expected to continue into the afternoon. Plaintiffs argued the cuts fall disproportionately on Black and Hispanic neighborhoods across the county.
Attorney Susan Hutchison told the court that officials initially planned to eliminate 140 polling sites before restoring 48 following public backlash. She argued the remaining reductions were not distributed equally across the county and that minority communities were excluded from the decision-making process.
Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig testified as the first witness and confirmed he did not consider racial or ethnic demographics when evaluating which polling locations to cut. He also acknowledged relying on a community survey conducted in 2019 before he took office.
County attorneys pushed back against the request for emergency relief arguing it is too late to reinstate sites before early voting opens Monday October 19. A county lawyer told the court that any court order would require officials to quickly secure new locations and hold public meetings to approve them under state law.
Judge Gallagher questioned whether that argument effectively made the case moot given the tight timeline and said he would review the applicable rules for reinstating polling locations.
Plaintiff attorneys countered that state law only requires 72 hours of public notice before polling location changes take effect making reinstatement still feasible before early voting begins.
County officials have maintained the revised plan improves efficiency by eliminating overlapping and underused sites and that it reflects typical voter turnout patterns during non-presidential election years.
A spokesperson for County Judge Tim O’Hare dismissed the lawsuit as politically motivated. Campaign strategist Nick Maddux called it a political stunt by Democrats seeking to create chaos and said the commissioners court had already demanded a plan with more voting locations than what was originally proposed.
Plaintiffs clarified they are not seeking to delay or cancel the election but want the court to order restoration of polling sites in the communities most impacted by the reductions.