Abbott’s limit on mail-in drop-off locations draws rebuke: ‘Vote these cowards out’
The ACLU and Texas Democratic Party decried a Thursday order by Gov. Greg Abbott limiting the number of mail-in ballot drop-off locations to one per county for the Nov. 3 election.
Beginning Oct. 2, mailed ballots delivered in person by voters who are eligible to vote by mail must be delivered to a single early voting clerk’s office location. The proclamation also requires early voting clerks to allow poll watchers to observe any activity conducted at the early voting location.
The order alters nothing in Tarrant County. The county was already limited to one early ballot drop-off location at the Tarrant County Election Administration, at 2700 Premier St. in Fort Worth. But others, such as Harris County, the most populous county in Texas, is forced to close 11 drop-off locations.
The proclamation amends a July 27 order that extended the period in which marked mail-in ballots could be delivered in person.
“We are dismayed that the governor of Texas decided to curtail the ability of Texans to cast their ballots safely in the middle of a pandemic by limiting the number of drop-off sites per county,” ACLU of Texas policy and advocacy director Sarah Labowitz said in a release. “While the governor asserts that he is attempting to ‘strengthen ballot security,’ we see this as yet another thinly disguised attempt to stymie the vote.”
Abbott couched his order as an attempt to “maintain the integrity of our election,” despite reports that show voting fraud is extremely rare in Texas and the nation as a whole.
“We must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state,” Abbott said. “These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.”
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said Abbott is trying to change voting rules “last minute.”
“Courts all over the country, including the Fifth Circuit yesterday, have held that it is too late to change election rules, but our failed Republican leadership will try anyway,” Hinojosa said. “Make no mistake, Democracy itself is on the ballot. Every Texan must get out and vote these cowards out.”
Labowitz said Texas doesn’t have a ballot security issue, but a “voter suppression problem.”
“The governor should work with counties to ensure that all timely mailed ballots are received and counted, and that all voters appearing at polling places to submit ballots or vote are free from harassment,” she said.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
