Potter and Randall County officials have joined a growing number of Texas counties in formally opposing a pair of state bills that could force a return to precinct-based voting—a system many election administrators and residents say is outdated, inefficient, and likely to depress voter turnout.
At issue are House Bill 4275 and its Senate companion, SB 2151, introduced by Rep. Dennis Paul (R-Houston) and Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), which would abolish the countywide polling place program that currently allows voters to cast ballots at any voting location within their home county. Under the proposed legislation, voters would once again be required to vote only at their assigned precinct on Election Day.
In back-to-back meetings over the last couple of weeks, both the Potter County Commissioners Court and the Randall County Commissioners Court unanimously approved resolutions urging state lawmakers to reject the bills. Their message was clear: the vote center model works, and undoing it would be a mistake with far-reaching consequences for voters, election officials, and the democratic process itself.
“Potter County has extremely low voting participation, and to do anything to make it lower would not be in the best interest of the county or of democracy,” said Dr. Claudia Stravato, a political science professor at West Texas A&M University, during public comments at Monday’s meeting in Amarillo.
Stravato likened the shift back to precinct voting as "going from electricity to candles"—a metaphor that seemed to resonate with many in the room. “It’s obsolete, inefficient, costly, and it suppresses the vote,” she added.
Potter County Elections Administrator Christy Benge underscored that since the county adopted vote centers in 2015, they’ve run over 30 elections under the system with little to no complaints from the public. The flexibility offered by vote centers—such as allowing residents to vote near their workplace, school, or during errands—has helped reduce confusion and eliminate many of the barriers that previously discouraged participation.
“Voters don’t have to worry about showing up at the wrong polling location and being turned away or sent across town,” Benge told commissioners. “It’s more efficient and equitable. It’s the system our voters know and trust.”
One of the key concerns raised by both Benge and her counterpart in Randall County, Shannon Lackey, is the immense logistical and financial burden counties would face if forced to revert to precinct-based voting.
“We’d likely have to buy new equipment, hire and train more poll workers, and invest in a major education campaign just to let voters know their polling place has changed,” Benge said, adding that such a shift would come just weeks before a primary election if the legislation passes as currently written.
The Legislative Budget Board, in a recently released fiscal analysis, echoed these worries. “The bill would have a significant impact on county election costs due to an increased number of polling locations, election equipment, and election workers,” the report stated, while noting that the exact scale of the cost is difficult to quantify.
Lackey, who also serves as president of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, was blunt in her assessment of the proposed changes. “This is a bill I’m fully prepared to fall on a sword to prevent,” she told Randall County commissioners last week.
She warned that reverting to precinct-only voting would be particularly devastating in counties where residents have become accustomed to the convenience of voting anywhere in their county—sometimes for more than a decade.
“In Randall County, someone who’s 30 years old has likely never voted at a precinct polling place,” Lackey said. “You’d have to teach them an entirely new way to vote—and we’re not just talking about young voters. We’re talking about everyone.”
Veteran election judge Ray Humphrey offered a sobering anecdote about what Election Day used to look like before the vote centers were implemented.
“I’ve seen it happen time and again—someone shows up at the wrong location after work, waits in line, only to find out they can’t vote there,” Humphrey recalled. “By the time they get the right address, it’s too late. The polls are closed. And people get angry. Real angry.”
That kind of voter disenfranchisement, officials say, has become rare since the implementation of vote centers. Rather than being tied to one location, voters can check a live list of polling places, choose one with the shortest line, and vote wherever is most convenient.
For people with disabilities, chronic health conditions, or limited transportation, that flexibility can be the difference between voting and staying home.
“Think about the physically impaired, those with vision or hearing issues,” said Potter County resident Jackie Payne, who has worked at numerous elections. “Vote centers make it easier for us to assist every voter in casting their ballot without the stress of being turned away.”
Supporters of the legislation argue that the move is necessary to simplify and restore trust in a system they say has grown overly complicated.
Sen. Bob Hall (R-Rockwall), author of the separate but related Senate Bill 2753, says the current mix of voting methods—including early voting, mail-in ballots, and countywide centers—has made elections too complex and prone to mistrust.
“SB 2753 would begin to unwind that complicated system,” Hall said during a recent hearing. The 248-page bill proposes eliminating early voting entirely, consolidating the voting period into a single stretch from the second Monday before Election Day through Election Day itself. Voting by mail would still be permitted under certain conditions.
But local officials say these proposals are being made without consulting the election administrators who actually run elections on the ground.
“Let the people who know how elections work make the decisions,” Lackey said. “This isn’t about politics. It’s about logistics, trust, and ensuring that people can vote without unnecessary hurdles.”
Randall County Judge Christy Dyer shared similar sentiments, recalling how inconvenient precinct-based voting used to be for her constituents. “You’d be standing on one side of the street, and the polling place would be right across from you—but you couldn’t vote there. You had to drive across town,” she said. “That doesn’t serve the public.”
For now, no changes will affect the upcoming May 3 elections. Both Potter and Randall County voters will still be able to vote at any open polling location in their county during early voting and on Election Day.
However, if the legislation passes, the countywide polling place program could be eliminated statewide as early as September. Counties would be forced to re-divide their residents into precincts, reduce the number of voting locations, and assign up to 5,000 voters to each voting center.
Benge noted that such a move wouldn’t just affect county elections, but also impact city and school district elections, as the county contracts with entities like the City of Amarillo, Amarillo College, and local water districts to run their elections.
“This would ripple through every local entity that depends on us,” Benge said. “It’s not just a county issue—it’s a community issue.”
In closing remarks at both commissioners court meetings, elected officials expressed their hope that lawmakers in Austin will hear the message loud and clear: don’t take away a system that’s working.
