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Home My WebLink About2026-022 May 2 Election Polling Locations UpdateFebruary 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 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. 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 REQUESTOR: 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) District Location Voter Turnout May-23 May-24 May-25 EV ED EV ED EV ED 1 *Denton County Elections Admin. 1155 Not used 856 Not used 602 Not used Denton Civic Center 1608 271 1419 Not used 1112 95 MLK Recreation Center 237 137 151 178 72 111 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 712 345 583 489 600 564 Denton Wesley Foundation Not used Not used Not used Not used 120 126 4 Denton Fire Station #7 Not used 184 259 135 146 136 Robson Ranch Clubhouse 1308 258 1389 265 917 231 South Branch Library 2454 907 1741 649 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 Center Annex - Assembly Room 230 N. Mayhill Rd., Denton 76208 2 Denia Recreation Center Room B 1001 Parvin St., Denton 76205 3 North Lakes Recreation Center Multi-purpose Room A 2001 W. Windsor Dr., Denton 76207 3 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: • Polling Locations Map February 13, 2026 Report No. 2026-019 STAFF CONTACT: Ingrid Rex, City Secretary (940) 349-8303 Ingrid.Rex@cityofdenton.com CITY OF DENTON PROPOSED POLLING LOCATIONS FOR MAY 2026 ELECTION KEY: Robson Ranch Clubhouse South Branch Library Denton Fire Station #7 Denia Recreation Center Denton Wesley Foundation North Lakes Recreation Center Denton Civic Center North Branch Library TX Women’s University MLK Recreation Center Denton ISD Sisk Service Ctr. Denton County Elections Admin. Early Voting & Election Day Locations Early Voting only Location Election Day only Location EXPLORATION OF OTHER DISTRICT 2 POLLING LOCATIONS KEY: Robson Ranch Clubhouse South Branch Library Denton Fire Station #7 Denia Recreation Center Denton Wesley Foundation North Lakes Recreation Center Denton Civic Center North Branch Library TX Women’s University MLK Recreation Center Denton ISD Sisk Service Ctr. Denton County Elections Admin. CH Collins Athletic Complex LDS Church on Old North Green Valley Baptist Church North Texas Fairgrounds Serve Denton Early Voting & Election Day Locations Early Voting only Location Election Day only Location Alternative District 2 Polling Location