Fresno County Elections has scheduled only one in-person voting location inside the entire 93706 ZIP code, and that decision demands a direct public explanation.

The 93706 community is not a small, isolated pocket of Fresno. It includes a large portion of southwest Fresno — a historically Black, Latino, working-class and underserved area that has long fought for fair political representation, public investment, and equal access to basic civic services. Yet, when it comes to in-person voting access, this community appears to be receiving less than
what many other parts of Fresno are receiving.

The only scheduled Vote Center inside 93706 is the West Fresno Regional Center on California Avenue at Cesar Chavez Boulevard. While that location is important and familiar to many residents, one site is not enough to serve the needs of an entire ZIP code with tens of thousands of residents, major transportation challenges, high poverty rates, working families, seniors, disabled voters, first-time voters and voters who may need in-person assistance.

Fresno County Elections may argue that voters can use any Vote Center in the county. Technically, that is true under California’s Voter’s Choice Act. But that answer is not good enough.

The right to vote should not depend on whether a southwest Fresno resident has a reliable car, extra gas money, time off work, childcare, or the ability to travel across town to reach a voting location in another neighborhood. Equal access on paper does not always mean equal access in real life.

That is the problem.

County Ignores Daily Realities

Fresno County cannot simply say, “You can vote somewhere else.” That response ignores the daily realities of many voters in 93706. It ignores transportation barriers. It ignores work schedules. It ignores elderly residents. It ignores residents with disabilities. It ignores people who need same-day registration, language help, replacement ballots, accessible voting equipment, or direct assistance from election workers.

A ballot drop box is helpful, but a drop box is not a Vote Center. A drop box cannot answer questions. A drop box cannot fix a registration issue. A drop box cannot help a voter who never received a ballot. A drop box cannot provide disability-access voting equipment. A drop box cannot offer the same level of voter protection and service that an in-person Vote Center provides.

That distinction matters.

Public Deserves to See the Data Behind This Decision

The county’s own election planning standards are supposed to consider communities with lower income levels, limited transportation access, language needs, lower vote-by-mail usage, and historical barriers to voting. Those are exactly the types of concerns that exist in 93706. So the question is simple: If those standards were truly applied, how did Fresno County Elections conclude that one Vote Center was sufficient?

The public deserves to see the data behind this decision.

How many registered voters live in 93706? How many used in-person voting in past elections? What locations were considered? Were community centers, churches, schools, union halls, libraries, or neighborhood facilities contacted? Were any sites rejected, and why? Was transportation access studied? Were wait times projected? Was racial equity considered? Were community leaders
consulted before the decision was finalized?

Without answers, this decision looks less like election planning and more like election neglect.

Fairness, Trust, and Voter Rights

Southwest Fresno has too often been asked to accept less — less investment, less infrastructure, less attention, and less political respect. Voting access should not be added to that list. A community that has historically had to fight for representation should not have to fight for basic access to the ballot box.

Fresno County Elections still has time to correct this. The department should immediately review the 93706 Vote Center plan, add at least one additional in-person voting location in southwest Fresno, and publicly explain how voting sites were selected across the city.

This is not about convenience alone. This is about fairness, trust and voting rights.

If Fresno County can provide multiple voting options in other parts of the city, then southwest Fresno deserves the same level of consideration. The voters of 93706 should not be treated as an afterthought. They should not be told to travel elsewhere. They should not be expected to quietly accept reduced access in one of Fresno’s most historically important communities.

Fresno County Elections owes the residents of 93706 more than a technical explanation. It owes them equal access.

About the Author

Mark B. Kimber is the publisher of The California Advocate Newspaper, 1555 E. Street, Fresno. He is the son of the late Les and Pauline Kimber, who founded the Black community newspaper in 1967.  Follow The California Advocate on Facebook at this link. To contact The California Advocate Newspaper, call  (559) 268-0941.

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