Today, TOP, represented by Texas Civil Rights Project, joined MOVE Texas and Jennifer K. Falcon to sue Bexar County for closing voting locations, a move that will undoubtedly prevent people from voting. The following is a statement by Michelle Tremillo, executive director of the Texas Organizing Project:
“Creating barriers by closing voting locations is exactly what we don’t need right now. We need more polling locations, more access. Voting should be as safe and easy as possible.
“Organizations like TOP and MOVE are doing the hard work to increase voter participation, and we expect Bexar County Elections Administrator Jackie Callanen to do her job and ensure every voter can cast their ballot.
“We saw record turnout in the primary and we know that more Bexar County residents will vote this year than in the 2016 presidential election. It would make absolutely no sense to have fewer locations under pre-pandemic conditions, but during a pandemic, it is downright reckless to crowd people into polling locations. It’s unsafe for the voters and the polls workers.
“Our country is in crisis, and people want to exercise their most fundamental right to set our country in a different course. People want to vote, and we are counting on Bexar County officials to have enough polling locations to meet the demands of this election.
“We urge them to re-open these sites immediately. It’s a shame we have to sue to stop this from happening.”
###
Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.