Right-leaning activists are calling on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court to reverse its previous decision to allow partisan groups to register people to vote in county buildings.
As previously reported by Texas Scorecard, a 3-1 majority of commissioners opted to vote in favor of an amendment to the “Tarrant County Facilities Use Policy” that would authorize left-wing groups like Battleground Texas to register people to vote inside county buildings.
The bipartisan vote, which saw Republican Commissioner Gary Fickes vote alongside two Democrats to approve the amendment, prompted some upset online, as did the absence of Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez who left the meeting early to attend a transportation-related event.
“Manny Ramirez Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare Gary Fickes. I understand there’s a special meeting on Thursday of the Commissioner’s Court, and these are urgent matters. Thank you for standing with us time and time again. We look forward to you doing the same on Thursday,” True Texas Project CEO Julie McCarty wrote on Facebook.
“Three requests: Vote NO on agenda items V.C.1, V.C.2, and V.C.3, so that no partisan group is allowed to use government resources to register voters. Our elections should be free and fair,” she added.
McCarty also called on the three Republican commissioners to vote to reduce the number of college campuses used as polling places for the November election.
“Approve Scenario 1 as posted in the agenda under Agenda Item V.A.1, which will reduce the number of college campuses used as polling places in the November election and will make our polling places more easily accessible to the general public,” she wrote.
While he missed the vote last week, Ramirez responded to a request for comment from Texas Scorecard, telling the news outlet that he is “not in favor of allowing any partisan political organizations to utilize public buildings for their operations.”
The Dallas Express reached out to Ramirez’s chief of staff to see if he would be attending Thursday’s special meeting but did not receive a response by publication.