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Texas Closed Hundreds of Polling Sites in Areas With Fast-Growing Black and Latino Populations
https://truthout.org/articles/texas-closed-hundreds-of-polling-sites-in-black-and-latino-communities/
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots during the presidential primary in Houston, Texas, on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Texas has shuttered more polling places than any other state in the South since 2012, and most of the closures disproportionately hit black and Latino areas, according to a new analysis by The Guardian.
Texas has closed 750 polling locations since 2012, the Leadership Conference Education Fund, a civil rights group, reported last year. The state had one polling place for every 4,000 residents in 2012, but that number rose to 7,700 residents by 2018. The Guardian’s analysis found that the overwhelming majority of closures came in areas that saw the largest increase in black and Latino residents.
The 50 counties that saw the highest growth in black and Latino population had 542 polling sites close between 2012 and 2018, while the 50 counties with the lowest black and Latino population growth saw just 34 closures. The closures came despite the population in the top 50 counties rising by 2.5 million while the 50 counties that had just 34 closures saw their population fall by 13,000.
“This is voter suppression — plain and simple,” said the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.
The moves are likely to worsen Texas’ already-low turnout rates, advocates warned, despite changing demographics and large growth in black and Latino areas.
“The fact of the matter is that Texas is not a red state,” Antonio Arellano of the progressive Latino group Jolt told The Guardian. “Texas is a nonvoting state.”
Some counties shuttered half or more of their polling locations.
McLennan County, which includes Waco, closed 44% of its polling places between 2012 and 2018 even as its population grew by more than 15,000 people, with more than two-thirds coming from black and Latino residents.
Brazoria County, near Houston, closed nearly 60% of its polling sites, in violation of the law. The county said the closures were “inadvertent.”
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots during the presidential primary in Houston, Texas, on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Texas has shuttered more polling places than any other state in the South since 2012, and most of the closures disproportionately hit black and Latino areas, according to a new analysis by The Guardian.
Texas has closed 750 polling locations since 2012, the Leadership Conference Education Fund, a civil rights group, reported last year. The state had one polling place for every 4,000 residents in 2012, but that number rose to 7,700 residents by 2018. The Guardian’s analysis found that the overwhelming majority of closures came in areas that saw the largest increase in black and Latino residents.
The 50 counties that saw the highest growth in black and Latino population had 542 polling sites close between 2012 and 2018, while the 50 counties with the lowest black and Latino population growth saw just 34 closures. The closures came despite the population in the top 50 counties rising by 2.5 million while the 50 counties that had just 34 closures saw their population fall by 13,000.
“This is voter suppression — plain and simple,” said the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.
The moves are likely to worsen Texas’ already-low turnout rates, advocates warned, despite changing demographics and large growth in black and Latino areas.
“The fact of the matter is that Texas is not a red state,” Antonio Arellano of the progressive Latino group Jolt told The Guardian. “Texas is a nonvoting state.”
Some counties shuttered half or more of their polling locations.
McLennan County, which includes Waco, closed 44% of its polling places between 2012 and 2018 even as its population grew by more than 15,000 people, with more than two-thirds coming from black and Latino residents.
Brazoria County, near Houston, closed nearly 60% of its polling sites, in violation of the law. The county said the closures were “inadvertent.”
Someone doesn't want Texas going blue. They don't want Texas Dems to even vote. Maybe that means Dem votes matter.
Demographic changes are altering the electorate in many states. And that bothers some people who are afraid of change. It would be so sweet if Texas went blue. Make it so.
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