Democrat James Talarico speaks to reporters at Backyard on Broadway in San Antonio on Tuesday. Credit: Cooper Shield

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico during a Tuesday appearance in San Antonio accused the GOP of voter suppression after Texas suspended 1.2 million voters’ registrations.

The Austin state rep’s comments to the Current came during a Lotería-themed campaign event and food drive at the Backyard on Broadway. He also made them after Tarrant County voted to remove 92 polling locations ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“The people in power are trying to stop us from holding them accountable, and we have to fight back against that with everything we have,” Talarico said. “That’s why we need folks to sign up and volunteer. It’s why we need everyone watching right now to check their voter registration to know how they can vote, know where to vote, and make a plan to vote early. That is the best way to overcome this suppression.”

Media reports surfaced last week that the state had suspended the voter registrations of 1.2 million Texans because their respective counties couldn’t confirm their current addresses. That can happen after election mail is returned as undeliverable, or when there is information that the person might have moved.

Then, on Tuesday, the Republican-led Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted to remove 92 polling stations in the November election, leaving 224 polling sites for 1.3 million voters in the politically important swing county.

Commissioners who voted in favor of the closure called a cost-saving measure. However, Talarico was far from the only Democratic politician who decried the action.

“Texas has a long and shameful history of making it harder for certain voters to access the ballot,” Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov. Vikki Goodwin told the Court on Tuesday. “All eyes are on Tarrant — but Republicans are showing their hands across the state.​”

That same day, Tejano singer-turned-Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido, who’s in a tight race to represent Texas’ redrawn 15th congressional district, said social media platform TikTok had banned his account, along with those of other progressive Hispanic political influencers.

“They haven’t been able to resolve why they banned us,” Pulido said in a video message posted to Facebook. “We’re trying to get an answer, but we can’t get an answer. It smells political. And I hope I’m wrong. This is not the country that we should live in, where they censor us based on politics.”

In his message, Pulido emphasized that TikTok was sold earlier this year to an investment group as part of a deal backed by President Donald Trump.

Pulido’s TikTok was reinstated late Tuesday.

Even so, Talarico told the Current it was no coincidence that the events occurred as Texas Democrats surge in the polls.

“Voting rights are not a partisan issue,” Talarico said. “I want everyone to vote, even people who aren’t going to vote for me. I want them to show up and make their voice heard because that’s what this Democratic process is all about. So many brave Americans have fought and died for this sacred right to vote, for this sacred right to control our own destinies.”

San Antonians can visit the Bexar County Elections Department’s website to check their voting registration status.

Cooper Shield contributed to this report.

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

​

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...