The city of Peñitas is urging Hidalgo County to reinstate its more commonly used polling locations after it was unexpectedly removed.
The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court removed the Peñitas Public Library as an approved poll location for the upcoming general election in November “without reason, and without notice,” the city said in a statement.
“The Peñitas poll location has historically been one of the highest turnout election sites in western Hidalgo County,” the statement read. “For example, in the November 2020 General Election, 3,386 voters cast their ballots at the Peñitas poll location during Early Voting. The neighboring communities of La Joya, Sullivan City, and Granjeno received 1,488, 1,877, and 758 votes, respectively.
“These smaller turnout poll sites are approved poll locations in the 2022 General Election, while Peñitas remains without a voice.”
The issue was brought before the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on Tuesday when Peñitas resident and current La Joya school board trustee Roberto Zamora addressed the members of the court during an open forum, urging the county to reinstate the polling site.
“Numerically, you know that Peñitas has more voters and has had bigger turnouts than the other entities, and yet, we do not have a voting site,” Zamora said.
The Peñitas City Council recently approved a resolution requesting that the Hidalgo County Elections Department designate the Peñitas Public Library as a polling location for all local, county, state and federal elections.
The resolution states that the Peñitas Public Library has passed all county inspections for safety and accessibility for the previous 10 years.
“The City of Peñitas recognizes that its citizens as well as other local residents are already familiar with this location and it would cause (undue) confusion to voters to change the polling site,” the resolution reads.
The resolution was unanimously approved while similar resolutions calling for the county to reinstate the Peñitas poll location were approved by Sullivan City, the Agua Special Utility District, and the La Joya Independent School District.
“This is clearly a political maneuver intended to suppress the voters of Peñitas and our citizens deserve better,” Peñitas Mayor Ramiro Loya said in the statement. “We highly encourage the County to reinstate the poll location in Peñitas.”
The city of Peñitas is encouraging its residents to contact Hidalgo County Precinct 3 Commissioner Everardo Villarreal to request that the Peñitas polling site be reinstated at the Peñitas Public Library for all local, county, state and federal elections.
