(Texas Scorecard) – After approving an amendment allowing a leftist organization to use taxpayer-funded buildings to register voters, Tarrant County Commissioners will hold a special meeting to reconsider the decision.
Last week, Commissioners were set to vote on whether a leftist organization, the Texas Battleground Engagement Fund, would be allowed to use county facilities to register people to vote.
Battleground Texas Engagement Fund has a stated position of wanting to turn Texas blue, saying on its website that Republicans are failing Texas communities.
Rather than holding a vote on the request from Battleground Texas Engagement Fund to use county facilities, Commissioner Alisa Simmons proposed an amendment to the “Tarrant County Facilities Use Policy.” The amendment permits county-certified volunteer deputy registrars to utilize the facilities as long as they conduct business during normal public access hours.
The amendment passed in a 3-1 vote, with Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare as the only dissenting vote. Commissioner Gary Fickes was the sole Republican to vote for the amendment, while the third Republican on the Commissioners Court, Manny Ramirez, was absent during the vote.
Ramirez told Texas Scorecard that he is “not in favor of allowing any partisan political organizations to utilize public buildings for their operations.”
Now, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare is calling a special meeting to reconsider the amendment.
“Immediately after the meeting was over, I was approached by the Republican who voted for it, who did not mean to vote for what he voted for, and asked how he could go about changing it. And so I’ve called the special meeting for that,” O’Hare told Texas Scorecard.
O’Hare says he will again vote against the amendment, saying that allowing third-party organizations will be problematic for multiple reasons.
“First, many county facilities are already constrained in terms of space and may not accommodate additional activities without disrupting essential services,” he explained. “Second, employees and visitors have the right to conduct their business free from harassment or solicitation.”
“Lastly, organizations like Battleground Texas are known for their overtly partisan affiliations. Allowing such groups access inside county buildings compromises the perceived neutrality of county facilities and would lead to concerns about bias and impartiality,” he concluded.
The meeting will take place on Thursday at 10 a.m.