Overview:

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court in Texas has voted to eliminate more than 100 Election Day polling locations and slash early voting sites, which critics say is a direct attack on Black, Latino, and college-age voters. This move, enabled by a new Texas law that lowered the minimum required polling locations, is part of a broader battle over redistricting, according to Rep. Venton Jones. The new maps, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, are “the most racially gerrymandered since the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” and will disproportionately affect minority neighborhoods and campuses.

A Shrinking Map for Voters

When the Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted 3–2 on August 19 to eliminate more than 100 Election Day polling locations and slash early voting sites, critics called it a direct attack on Black, Latino, and college-age voters. The move, enabled by a new Texas law that lowered the minimum required polling locations from 347 to just 212, immediately set off alarms in Fort Worth and beyond.

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, who led the charge, brushed off concerns, claiming the cuts were about “efficiency” and going so far as to say, “I would venture to guess 99% of the public cannot name a single thing on the 2025 ballot.”

His record, however, shows a pattern: earlier this year, O’Hare also cut funding for free bus rides to polling places for low-income residents.

The timing is hard to ignore. Just days earlier, former President Donald Trump vowed to end the use of mail-in ballots altogether, inserting himself once again into Texas’ political machinery. Now, with new congressional maps designed to add five Republican seats, the voting landscape in North Texas looks dramatically different.

Rep. Venton Jones: “A Power Grab on the Backs of Black and Brown Texans”

At Dallas Weekly’s On the Rocks Political Pour-overs conversation with Representative Venton Jones (D, 100, Dallas) and Kat Vargas of Howdy Politics, the Dallas Democrat did not mince words. He tied the cuts in Tarrant County directly to the broader battle over redistricting:

“This redistricting pipe is so much bigger than the state of Texas. This is literally a power grab, one that is being done on the backs of Black and Brown congressional representation, but also in an attempt to possibly steal the midterm elections,” Jones said.

Tarrant County’s decision to eliminate polling locations and slash early voting sites raises concerns over voter suppression and minority voter influence. Credit: Dallas Weekly via Instagram Credit: Dallas Weekly

According to Jones, the new maps—signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last week—are “the most racially gerrymandered since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” While Republicans point to so-called “Latino majority” districts, Jones argues the math doesn’t hold: those districts were padded with noncitizens who cannot vote, rendering the “majority” label meaningless.

“It will actually take three Latino voters to equal the voting power of one white voter. It will take five Black voters to equal the voting power of one white voter,” Jones explained. “This is really against the Voting Rights Act, which says it is one vote for one person.”

Tarrant County as a Case Study

The redistricting fight may seem abstract until viewed through Tarrant County’s recent decision. In one stroke, more than a hundred polling places disappeared, disproportionately affecting minority neighborhoods and campuses.

Jones warned that the representation of people of color in Tarrant County has already been “cracked up” and dispersed into surrounding districts. “You’re going to have these heavily minority areas now represented by leadership or congressional representation that does not match with how people voted,” he said.

That dilution is not limited to Fort Worth. Houston and Dallas have seen similar maneuvers. Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s District 30, historically a Black stronghold in South Dallas, has been redrawn to shift economic assets like Love Field elsewhere, while absorbing parts of East Arlington.

A redrawn District 30 would no longer include Love field, cutting crucial constituents represented by for Rep. Crockett. Source: The Texas Tribune.

The result: a map that strengthens Republican prospects at the cost of minority voter influence.

National Pressure, Local Impact

Jones emphasized that these changes are not simply about local politics—they are part of a coordinated national strategy. Trump, who has openly advocated for suppressing mail-in ballots and influenced Texas’ redistricting process, is reshaping state lines with federal ambitions in mind.

“What I hope we learned in two terms under Trump is that it all can get into the Twilight Zone,” Jones remarked, pointing to the risk of a coalition in Washington that could refuse to certify democratically won elections.

Meanwhile, community advocates in Tarrant County continue to push back. At the August 19 commissioners’ meeting, more than three dozen residents spoke against the cuts, calling them blatant voter suppression. Lawsuits have already been filed within hours of the redistricting maps passing, setting the stage for lengthy legal battles.

The Stakes Ahead

For Jones, the issue is not about partisanship but about fair representation. “Is that to say Republicans cannot represent people of color? Absolutely not. But the way people are voting is being changed by the configuration of these maps,” he argued.

Texas’ demographic reality is that Latinos and white Texans each make up about 40% of the population. Yet, under the new maps, 26 of the state’s districts are white-majority—an intentional skew, Jones said, designed to tilt power away from communities of color.

“They’re trying to cheat voters by changing the rules. Once again, that’s the problem we’re dealing with—right here and right now.”

Representative Venton Jones (D, 100, Dallas)

As voters in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston brace for the 2026 midterms, the question remains: how will these engineered shifts affect turnout, trust, and representation? For Rep. Venton Jones, the answer is clear. “They’re trying to cheat voters by changing the rules. Once again, that’s the problem we’re dealing with—right here and right now.”

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