U.S. judge skeptical of Texas Republican bid to throw out 127,000 votes

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

2020 U.S. ELECTIONS
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 11:19 AM UPDATED 19 MINUTES AGO

U.S. judge skeptical of Texas Republican bid to throw out 127,000 votes

By Jennifer Hiller, Jan Wolfe
2 MIN READ

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Monday appeared skeptical of an attempt by Republicans to throw out about 127,000 votes already cast in the U.S. presidential election at drive-through voting sites in Houston, a Democratic-leaning area.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen said the Republicans who brought the case faced an “uphill road” in convincing him that the votes should be voided.

The judge said the plaintiffs needed to show that Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, a Democrat, had an “evil motive” in allowing drive-through voting as an alternative during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit was brought on Wednesday by plaintiffs including state Representative Steve Toth, conservative activist Steve Hotze, and judicial candidate Sharon Hemphill.

The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday rejected a nearly identical bid by the same plaintiffs to halt drive-through voting in Harris County. The same court also previously denied similar challenges brought by the Texas Republican Party and the Harris County Republican Party.

Reporting by Jan Wolfe, Editing by Franklin Paul and Alistair Bell

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-texas-voting/u-s-judge-skeptical-of-texas-republican-bid-to-throw-out-127000-votes-idUSKBN27I29V

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Good to hear.

[DrToast]

2. Think the backlash over this has scared the judge

I think he wants to rule in favor of the Republicans, but knows how bad it will look. And it might even get overruled if he did.

[C_U_L8R]

3. Republicans see voters as evil motive.

And that’s why they will lose so many more elections. Failed party.

[DeminPennswoods]

4. Isn't this judge supposed to be one of the most

conservative, rw judges on the federal bench? I thought the Rs were beyond thrilled he was assigned to their case.

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Yes.

[Ninga]

5. Whew! Does this put the issue to rest?

[Drunken Irishman]

8. No. He still hasn't made his ruling. Just suggesting their case is not strong.

If they change his mind, he can rule to toss the ballots but this is a good sign.

[Ninga]

15. Drat!

[lagomorph777]

10. Nothing will ever be put to rest until we reform the courts, but it is a good sign.

[getagrip_already]

11. no, he hasn't ruled yet......Is electing dems an evil motive?

This was just his opening statement.

What defines evil motives one wonders?

[soothsayer]

7. Isn't he a partisan hack? Is he just playing at this skepticism?

[RockRaven]

9. This judge is supposedly super conservative and hyperpartisan. Don't get too excited yet.

We shall see...

[Indykatie]

14. I Don't GOP Will Win This Case Regardless of Who the Judge Is

Harris County's drive through process was approved by the TX Sec of State who is a Republican. The other thing working against them is that they didn't file suit until the process had started and 100,000+ people had used it. We should note that the process isn't in question for those who are disabled. I don't know what the TX definition is for Disability in this context but some number of the voters would meet it no doubt. That would preclude a decision where 100% of the votes were invalidated. The case did get a lot of press and showed people how deeply invested the GOP is in throwing out votes in Blue areas.

[lame54]

21. Your title is unclear...i think you left out a word

[BComplex]

12. First, this idiot judge needs to let reporters back into the courtroom. Second,

he needs to be reminded that there were likely a great many elderly republicans voting by car, as well.

Just because a lot of republicans in Texas are voting for Biden shouldn't weigh heavily in the ruling! My 81 year old aunt is a republican in Texas voting for Biden!!!

[TwilightZone]

16. There are reporters in the room.

The earlier claim turned out to be false. There are a couple of threads around about it.

[BComplex]

18. I hadn't seen those threads. That's really good to know, because this judge,

in particular, is known to be an extreme right wing judge.

Thanks for letting me know!

[awesomerwb1]

13. Don't see a lot to get excited about

the MAGAt judge is basically saying "convince me".

[yellowcanine]

17. The clerk's "evil motive" was he wanted people to vote.

According to Trumpets.

[lame54]

19. In Texas...

Drive through voting is wrong

But

Drive by intimidation is perfectly fine

[peggysue2]

20. Skeptical? Ya think

And if we're talking 'evil motives', there's only one direction to look. That would be to the right, squarely on the Trump camp.