Every Election Day, 10-15% of Denton Co. votes are threatened
It could happen to you.
Read some Denton Election Day horror stories
The Denton County Commission can act to allow registered voters to cast ballots at any polling place in the county on Election Day, but the commissioners have failed to act for four years…
Why is this happening?
• When countywide Election Day voting -- also known as Voting Centers -- was approved by the state legislature years ago, a quirk in the law meant Denton County didn’t qualify.
• That was fixed four years ago. All that’s needed is for our county commissioners to certify that our county meets state requirements for this change to take place, but that has not happened.
Why is this a problem here?
• Denton County is BIG. It’s 33 miles of urban driving from Krum in the northwest to Carrollton in the southeast.
• Most people don’t live, work, shop and go to school in the same place. Many travel outside the county every day.
• Many move within the county.
• Thousands of newcomers arrive every month.
But I thought we could vote anywhere in the county now…
Yes, you can vote anywhere in the county during Early Voting, but not on Election Day.
On Election Day, you must vote at your assigned polling place, which MAY NOT be the closest to where you live. (Find your own assigned polling place.)
What happens if I show up at the wrong polling place on Election Day?
In Denton County, the law requires you be politely redirected to a different location to cast your vote, even if it is miles and miles away, even if you can’t get there before the polls close.
If you do vote in the wrong polling place, you will probably cast a provisional ballot that likely will not be counted.
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How many are harmed?
It happens to 10-15% of Election Day voters, depending on the election.
​The county elections office counted the number of voters who showed up in the wrong place in all polling locations for the first time on May 3, 2025. On that day 10% of the voters who showed up at the polls were in the wrong location.
• For the May 28, 2024, primary runoff, Democratic polling locations reported the number of "wrong location" voters -- most of whom were GOP voters. We estimate as many as
15% -- 1 in 6 Election Day voters -- were turned away.
• On Nov. 5, 2024, Democratic poll workers again reported "wrong location" counts for 2/3 of all polling locations. Our estimate of the total number of redirects
on Election Day: 11% of all voters more than 7,000 voters.
How many redirected voters actually wind up casting ballots on Election Day?
No one knows. How many give up? Also not counted.
Then there are the "wrong polling place" provisional ballots that are rejected. Also not counted.
Is this voter suppression?
Legally registered voters are discouraged from voting, or their votes not counted. This harms voters of all races, political parties.
Does this happen all over Texas?
No. This does NOT happen in the 99 counties with Voting Centers, including Dallas, Collin and Tarrant.
What are Voting Centers?
• Voting Centers allow registered voters to vote in any polling place in the county on Election Day, using the same equipment and procedures as on the last day of Early Voting.
• 99 counties with 83%+ of Texas voters have vote centers.
• No county with Voting Centers has gone back to assigned polling place voting on Election Day.
• The Texas Secretary of State reported that “feedback from voters, election officials, and party chairs, along with the turnout percentages, suggests that countywide election polling places offer a way to ensure that voters who plan to vote in the election have an increased opportunity to do so, as they do with early voting.”
Why hasn’t the Commission acted?
All five Commissioners are Republicans. They say they can’t act because “the political parties can’t agree,” but that isn’t true.
• The Denton County Democratic Party is ready to do this immediately. It's the Republican Party that refuses to approve joint voting during primary elections, so far blocking countywide Election Day voting completely.
• Former GOP County Chair Lacy Riley refused to approve countywide Election Day voting for four years. She resigned in May 2025. Her successor is Melinda Preston.​​
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Here's the real outrage.
The county commissioners could approve countywide Election Day voting for non-primary elections, which are most of the elections in our county.
Party primaries happen only every other year. The commission could have approved Voting Centers for non-primary elections without the approval of the political party chairs. But they haven't.
What can I do?
