Students Sue Waller County Over Early Voting

PRAIRIE VIEW (1080 KRLD) - Students at Prairie View A&M have filed a lawsuit, saying Waller County is suppressing the vote of minorities.

The lawsuit says 80 percent of students at Prairie View A&M are black, but Waller County does not have an early voting location on campus.

The lawsuit says the lack of a voting location on or near campus violates the students' civil rights. The suit says "non-Black and non-student" voters are more likely to have transportation to another location.

There are no early voting sites in the City of Prairie View. Earlier this month, the Waller County Commissioners Court said it chose polling places with input from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

The lawsuit says Waller County did not choose an early voting location in Prairie View because early voting would conflict with the school's homecoming.

Waller County does plan to open a polling location at the student center at Prairie View A&M next week as well as a community center a mile from campus.

The lawsuit asks for the student center to open for voters starting Thursday and to stay open for voting over the weekend.