HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-022 May 2 Election Polling Locations Update February 27, 2026 Report No. 2026-022
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Update regarding the May 2, 2026 General Election and Special Election Polling Locations.
BACKGROUND:
On Tuesday January 13, 2026, the City Council adopted ordinance 25-2298 ordering a regular
election for Place 5, Place 6, and Place 7 (Mayor), and a special election for filling a vacancy in
Place I and Place 2 for the unexpired term ending in May 2027, to be held on Saturday, May 2,
2026 and if required, a runoff election to be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026.
DISCUSSION:
On Friday, February 13, staff published ISR 2026-19 outlining proposed polling locations for the
May 2 General and Special Elections and requesting Council Member feedback. On February 16,
staff received a follow-up inquiry from Council Member Beck to explore adding the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) on Old North Road as an additional early voting site. The
request referenced its use in past federal elections and a desire to provide more than one early
voting site within Council District 2.
Background on Proposed Locations
When developing the proposed list, staff aimed to include at least two early voting locations and
two Election Day locations within each district. To achieve this, the original proposal included
the Sisk Center as an early voting site within District 2.
All polling locations must be approved by Denton County, as the Elections Administrator, and the
School District for cost sharing. The School District declined to support the Sisk Center as an early
voting location, citing its proximity (0.9 miles) to the Denton County Elections Office and
concerns about cost effectiveness. As a result, the Sisk Center was not included in the final
recommendation.
Follow-Up Actions Regarding the LDS Church Request
Following Council Member Beck's request, staff reached out to the County, the School District,
and the LDS Church.
• County Elections: Staff requested historical voting information and cost estimates. The
County confirmed the LDS Church served as an Election Day location in November 2024,
but was unable to provide location-specific turnout. Publicly available data is precinct-
based, making location turnout difficult to estimate. The County estimated $12,000—
$15,000 to operate an additional early voting site,not including any rental fees charged by
the facility.
• School District: The District agreed to cost-share only the originally proposed locations
and declined to cost-share any additional sites, including the LDS Church. Any additional
site would be fully funded by the City.
• LDS Church: Staff spoke with the LDS Stake President, who reported that their regular
weekday programming would prevent them from serving as an early voting location.
February 27, 2026 Report No. 2026-022
Exploration of Other District 2 Polling Locations: The County provided a list of polling places
previously used in federal and/or state elections that fall within District 2, including Serve Denton,
the North Texas Fairgrounds, CH Collins Athletic Complex, and Green Valley Baptist Church.
Staff contacted each location regarding interest and availability to serve as an early voting site:
• Serve Denton—Declined due to programming conflicts.
• North Texas Fairgrounds—Declined due to programming conflicts.
• CH Collins Athletic Complex—Denton ISD declined to provide any additional sites.
• Green Valley Baptist Church — Available to serve as an early voting location should
Council wish to include it.
Additional Considerations
Voters may use any early voting location countywide, and several proposed early voting sites
(TWU- .5 miles, Civic Center- .3 miles, and North Lakes - .8 miles) are in close proximity to the
District 2 boundary.
The addition of any new polling locations would be funded solely by the City, as the district is not
able to cost share on polling locations beyond those included in the February 13 Informal Staff
Report. The estimated cost to the City for adding Green Valley Baptist Church as an early voting
location is between $12,000 and $15,000. The FY25-26 budget for election-related expenses
assumes the same number of polling locations used in the May 2025 election,with adjustments for
increased County charges and the potential for a runoff election. While the addition of the District
1 and District 2 Special Election does not directly affect overall election costs, a larger number of
candidates increases the likelihood of a runoff, which could impact the budget.
CONCLUSION:
The polling locations will be presented to Council on Tuesday, March 3. At which point, Council
will consider the proposal.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2026-019 May 2 Election Polling Locations
2. Map—Proposed Polling Locations
3. Map—Exploration of Other District 2 Polling Locations
STAFF CONTACT:
Kristi Fogle
Chief of Staff
Ingrid Rex
City Secretary
REOUESTOR: Staff Initiated
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT: 10 hours
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS: City Manager's Office, City Secretary's Office
February 13, 2026 Report No. 2026-019
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
May 2, 2026 General Election and Special Election Polling Locations.
BACKGROUND:
On Tuesday January 13, 2026, the City Council adopted ordinance 25-2298 ordering a regular election
for Place 5, Place 6, and Place 7 (Mayor), and a special election for filling a vacancy in Place 1 and
Place 2 for the unexpired term ending in May 2027,to be held on Saturday,May 2,2026 and if required,
a runoff election to be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026.
Polling locations used during any election will vary depending on the number of jurisdictions contracting
with Denton County Elections (DCE). In some instances. Denton County will assign precincts to a
specific location and districts may share a polling location.
The following is the most recent voter turnout information:
VOTER TURNOUT - EARLY VOTING (EV) AND ELECTION DAY (ED)
Voter Turnout
District Location I May-23 May-24 May-25
EV ED EV ED I EV ED
*Denton County Elections Admin. 1155 Not used 856 Not used 602 jusedDenton Civic Center 1608 271 1419 Notused 1112MLK Recreation Center 237 137 151 178 72
Texas Woman's Univ. - Hubbard Hall 174 Not used Not used 120 132 Not used
2 North Branch Library 1257 559
Denton ISD Sisk Service Center Annex Not used 177 Not used 183 Not used 127
3 North Lakes Recreation Center 564
Denton Wesley Foundation Not used Not used Not used Not used 120 126
Denton Fire Station#7 Not used
4 Robson Ranch Clubhouse 917 231
South Branch Library 1117 415
February 13, 2026 Report No. 2026-019
The following are staff s proposed polling locations. These are the locations that the City will share
costs for with Denton ISD. A map is included of the proposed polling locations.
PROPOSED EARLY VOTING POLLING LOCATIONS
Residents can vote at any early voting location throughout Denton County during the Early Voting
period and are not restricted to voting at City of Denton polling locations. The Denton County Elections
Administrator will provide the list of all Denton County Early Voting locations after April 10, 2026,
once all participating jurisdictions are known.
The proposed polling locations shown below for Early Voting are within the Denton City limits.
Location Room Address District
Denton County Elections Admin.* A100 701 Kimberly Dr. 1
Denton Civic Center Community Room 321 E. McKinney St. 1
MLK Recreation Center Computer Lab 1300 Wilson St. 1
Texas Woman's University Hubbard Hall 301 Administration Dr. 1
North Branch Library Meeting Room 3020 N. Locust St. 2
Denia Recreation Center Room B 1001 Parvin St. 3
Denton Wesley Foundation 1501 Maple St. 3
North Lakes Recreation Center Multi purpose room A 2001 W. Windsor Dr. 3
Denton Fire Station#7 Community Room 1501 Maple St. 4
Robson Ranch Clubhouse Medina Room 9428 Ed Robson Cir. 4
South Branch Library Program Room 3228 Teasley Ln. 4
* This is a DCE required location
PROPOSED ELECTION DAY POLLING LOCATIONS
The proposed polling locations shown below are within the City's limits. City of Denton residents will
vote on Election Day, May 2, 2026, according to their precinct and district.
Location Room Address District
Denton Civic Center Community Room 321 E. McKinney St., Denton 76201 1
MLK Recreation Center Computer Lab 1300 Wilson St., Denton 76205 1
North Branch Library Meeting Room 3020 N. Locust St.,Denton 76209 2
Denton ISD Sisk Service Annex-Assembly Room 230 N. Mayhill Rd., Denton 76208 2
Center
Denia Recreation Center Room B 1001 Parvin St., Denton 76205 3
North Lakes Recreation Multi purpose Room A 2001 W.Windsor Dr.,Denton 76207 3
Center
Denton Wesley Foundation 1501 Maple St., Denton 76201 3
Denton Fire Station#7 Community Room 4201 Vintage Blvd.,Denton 76226 4
Robson Ranch Clubhouse Medina Room 9428 Ed Robson Cir., Denton 76207 4
South Branch Library Program Room 3228 Teasley Ln., Denton 76210 4
February 13,2026 Report No. 2026-019
DISCUSSION:
In reviewing the historical use of polling locations from 2023, 2024, and 2025, the proposed locations
are substantially the same used for general elections and runoff elections, where applicable.
The polling locations were presented to Denton ISD who confirmed on February 10, 2026, that they
would participate in cost sharing for the polling locations suggested by staff for Early Voting and
Election Day.
Denton County Elections recommends using the Wesley Foundation(adjacent to the UNT campus)over
the Greek Life Center, as it has more parking spaces. Denton Wesley Foundation staff confirmed
availability for it to be used, and TWU staff also confirmed availability for Hubbard Hall to be used, as
polling locations for Early Voting and on Election Day. Denton ISD has confirmed availability for the
Denton ISD Sisk Service Center Annex to be used, but only on Election Day.
If a runoff election is necessary, proposed polling locations would be deliberated at the time the runoff
election is ordered and would be based on offices/races in the Runoff.
OPTIONS:
The following options exist:
• Give direction to proceed with staff s proposed locations for the May 2, 2026, general and special
election to be incorporated into the draft election contract scheduled for consideration at the March 3,
2026, Meeting.
• Give direction for staff to research substitute locations for potential use.
NEXT STEPS:
1. Please communicate back to staff by Thursday, February 19, 2026, if you:
• agree with the proposed polling locations, or
• have questions, or
• would like to investigate other locations.
2. Staff plans to include the proposed polling locations together with the draft Denton County Elections
contract for presentation to Council on March 3, 2026, for approval.
3. Finalized polling locations must be submitted to Denton County Elections on or before their Friday,
March 6, 2026, deadline.
ATTACHMENTS:
0 Polling Locations Map
February 13, 2026 Report No. 2026-019
STAFF CONTACT:
Ingrid Rex, City Secretary
(940) 349-8303
Ingrid.Rexkcityofdenton.com
Polling Locations
February 2026
KRUM
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North Lakes North Branch Library
Recreation Center 3020 N. Locust St.
200.. W. Windsor Dr.
2
Texas Woman's
University
TBD
Denton Civic Center 11 Denton ISD Sisk
321 E McKinney St. Service Center Annex
230 N. Mayhill Rd.
University of North Texas N
Denton W-FF—s-I ERN Foundation MLK Recreation
1501 Maple St. Center
Denia Recreation 1300 Wilson St.
Center Denton County Elections
1001 Parvin St. Administration
701 Kimberly Dr.
C 4 South Branch
Library
Denton Fire 3228 Teasley Ln.
Station #7 C
4201 Vintage Blvd
F
Robson Ranch
Clubhouse
9428 Ed Robson Cir.
ARGYLE <
Argyle Isd F M 407 S1 v
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District 1 ETJ 1 Author.Development Services GIS-2930105
Polling Locations W E Date:211 312 02 6 12:28 PM
- District ETJ2 Thisinformatam is solelyforgeneralreference and is not to CITY
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purposes.It does not replace an on-site survey and provides
- District 3 Only an approximate location ofproperty boundaries.While D ENT N
0 5600 every effort has been made to ensure accuracy,no Inclusion•Collaboration•Quality Service
guarantee is implied.The use of this map indicates
District Feet Feel acknowl en ed tthatthedatam notheendrel a .rate. I Strategic Focus•Fiscal Responsibility
CITY OF DENTON PROPOSED POLLING LOCATIONS
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EXPLORATION OF OTHER DISTRICT 2 POLLING LOCATIONS
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KEY: Early Voting&Election Day Locations
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Election Day only Location
Alternative District 2 Polling Location