Dr. Nancy Nichols speaks to the Smith County Commissioners Court about putting a polling location in the county’s Juvenile Attention Center.

Smith County Commissioners are defending their decision to add a new polling location at the Smith County Juvenile Attention Center.

Voters expressed concern ahead of a vote to add an additional polling location at the facility during the Tuesday Commissioners Court meeting.

DeAnn Fox told commissioners she did not want to go to jail to vote, and that a hashtag had been created for social media.

Fox said that while reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday she felt compelled to share some quotes with the court.

“’Our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter,’ and I cannot be made silent on this matter,” she said. “I just feel very strongly about that.”

Mike Nichols called the move voter suppression. He said he did not want to have to tell his children, grandchildren and great-grandchild that their polling location is at a jail.

“When you’re asking people to go to a secure facility such as that, it is voter suppression pure and simple,” he said.

Dr. Nancy Nichols, president of the Smith County Democrat Club, said the move sends the wrong message to the Hispanic and black communities the location is meant to serve.

“I can’t believe this is the message you want to send to the public,” she said. “There are choices, we deserve better.”

Nichols said she has had people express concerns such as whether voters will need to go through security or if there will be pat downs to enter the facility.

She also asked the court why they have not put polling places at Texas College, the University of Texas at Tyler or Tyler Junior College.

Commissioner JoAnn Hampton, who represents the area the location is meant to serve, pushed back. The facility, located 2630 Morningside Drive, also serves as the location for alternative school programs for school districts across Smith County.

“It is one of the nicest facilities that we have in Smith County. You do not have to go through security. You just walk in, you go to the right into the conference room,” Hampton said. “You don’t even know it’s a juvenile attention center, not a detention center. And we do that because we care about the students here in Smith County, and I do not appreciate you saying we are doing voter suppression because we are not.”

Hampton noted that this is an additional location, and one was not being taken away. After the vote, Smith County brought its total to 35 polling locations across the county.

“This is a vote center, if you do not want to vote there, you don’t have to. You can vote anywhere in Smith County you choose to vote,” Hampton said. “If my district had a problem, then they needed to come visit with me, and I have not had one call except (for yours).”

Commissioner Jeff Warr also took exception, and stressed that the county had worked hard to not only add more locations, but also ensure voters were not tied to just their precinct for polling place options. Warr also said he reached out to friends and constituents in the area.

“I did not have one single person have any issue whatsoever … so y’all make a big deal about something and get everyone all worked up,” he said. “So whatever group you’re running with is not the norm in Smith County.”

Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran said he wanted to stress that the location is an attempt to give voters more options.

“This really is an attempt by this court to open up an additional voting site. Let’s remember the context here,” Moran said. “Mr. Nichols, with all due respect, you talked about voter suppression and said that over and over again, but this is an attempt by this court to add an additional location. I find it logically hard to conclude that it’s voter suppression to add a location in a geographic area that may be underserved. This is an additional option.”

After a motion by Hampton and a second from Warr, the court voted unanimously to make the Juvenile Attention Center the county’s 35th polling location. They also approved moving the Lindale Library location to First Methodist Church in Lindale and moving the Boulter Middle School location down the street to the Tyler Senior Center.

In Other Business

The court also reviewed feedback from a series of meetings and an online survey about the proposed Smith County Courthouse replacement bond, which is expected to be placed on the November ballot.

Moran said the reason for the workshop was to be able to update all of the county commissioners in one setting, and stressed it was not for decision making.

“This is a workshop, there is going to be no binding decisions made here today,” Moran said.

The court reviewed the safety and logistic issues the county is facing with the aging courthouse before launching into feedback from residents.

“Tough challenges will certainly require tough conversations and that’s fine. Smith County voters are strong enough to work through this,” Moran said. “That ultimately is our challenge, to give the public the best researched and ferreted out information to make a decision.”

The county received 707 responses in writing and online to the survey asking for opinions on a variety of issues related to the courthouse.

Of those 700-plus responses, more than 90% said they think the existing facility should be replaced. More than 70% said they don’t believe the current courthouse could be renovated to meet the county’s needs.