Four Tarrant County voters filed a lawsuit Friday against Tarrant County, Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare, Republican Commissioners Matt Kraus and Manny Ramirez, and Elections Administrator Clinton Ludwig for cutting 92 polling locations ahead of the midterm elections.
The lawsuit claims the cuts violate the Texas Constitution and the Texas Election Code. The plaintiffs, which include city councilwoman Deborah Peoples, former city councilwoman Kathleen Hicks, retired judge Maryellen Hicks, and elected Fort Worth ISD trustee Camille Rodriguez, are asking the court to order the county to block the reduction plan, seek minority voter input on where sites will be placed, and restore the 92 cut voting sites with enough time before Election Day on Nov. 3.
The decision to cut polling locations was drawn out over the summer, and faced severe backlash.
Hundreds of residents opposed the cuts during a contentious Aug. 4 meeting, so much so O’Hare and the rest of the commissioners court unanimously voted to postpone an initial proposal until September’s meeting that would have closed around 140 polling locations.
Residents still opposed the reduction of 92 sites, but O’Hare, Kraus, and Ramirez voted to approve the new proposal on Sept. 1, claiming the reduction plan will save money and improve efficiency. Democrat commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. voted against the proposal, which also cut early voting sites from 50 to 47.
The plaintiffs also accused the county of intentionally making it harder for Black and Hispanic residents to vote. In their complaint, they provide evidence ZIP codes with predominately nonwhite voters were drastically impacted. For example, in ZIP code 76103—where 76% of voters are Black or Hispanic—the county eliminated all three polling locations used in 2022. In ZIP code 76115, which is 89.3% nonwhite, four of five voting sites were eliminated, according to the lawsuit.
More Tarrant County lawsuits vs. Tim O’Hare
This isn’t the first lawsuit O’Hare has faced in recent months. Four additional women also filed a lawsuit against him on Sept. 21, claiming the Commissioners Court decorum policy, which was created under O’Hare’s leadership, violates the First and 14th Amendments as well as the Texas Constitution.
Their lawsuit is asking the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas to condemn the policy as unconstitutional and bar its use, and claims O’Hare has “created a culture of fear and chilled protected speech.”
“I hope this lawsuit restores the fundamental right of Tarrant County residents to participate in their own government and speak freely without being chilled by an unconstitutional decorum policy,” Tarrant County resident Elizabeth Miller told Courier Texas. “We are fighting to ensure that our voices can be heard and that due process is observed by those who’ve sworn to defend it.”
Former state Rep. Lon Burnam also sued O’Hare after he was thrown out of commissioners court in August for allegedly disrupting the meeting by picking up the speaker microphone during his testimony. In the lawsuit, Burnam alleges O’Hare and the county violated his First Amendment rights by cutting off his public comments, removing him from the meeting, and barring him from attending future meetings.
O’Hare is up for reelection this midterm election year in Tarrant County, which is considered one of Texas’ last true battleground regions. Early voting begins Oct. 19 and ends Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3.
