Harris County voters left with one drive-thru voting location on Election Day after legal battle pro

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Texas Tribune

Harris County voters left with one drive-thru voting location on Election Day after legal battle prompts clerk to close nine sites

Worried about more legal challenges, a Harris County election official said he will shutter nine out of 10 drive-thru voting sites on Election Day. The move came after a federal judge refused to toss nearly 127,000 ballots cast at the drive-thru sites during early voting.

BY MITCHELL FERMAN NOV. 2, 2020 UPDATED: 11:43 PM

HOUSTON — Only the Toyota Center will be available for drive-thru voting in Harris County on Election Day, County Clerk Chris Hollins said late Monday, eliminating nine other drive-thru options for voters to cast their ballots just hours before the polls open.

Nearly 127,000 Harris County voters cast drive-thru ballots during the early voting period at 10 polling sites across the county, a safer option for some voters during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hollins said he would close most of the drive-thru options on Election Day because of continued legal challenges from a conservative activist and three Republican candidates for office. A federal judge earlier Monday denied that group's attempt to have the drive-thru ballots cast during early voting tossed out, but continued to file appellate challenges over drive-thru voting late Monday.

The two sides in the case quibbled with U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in the courtroom earlier on Monday over the definition of a building, an important distinction in the state law, which says “each polling place shall be located inside a building.” The Republican plaintiffs argued that Hollins "boasted" about the county providing more than 700 in-person polling sites on Election Day, a sufficient amount of choices for voters, the plaintiffs said, and no need for drive-thru options.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/02/harris-county-drive-thru-locations-closed/

[CincyDem]

1. So, in effect, rethugs win even though they lost. Grrrrrr.. n/t

[sweetloukillbot]

3. No

They were trying to invalidate 129k ballots. That c didn’t happen.
This is not ideal, but it isn’t a complete loss and it’s not much of a victory for the party that banking on Election Day votes.

[The Magistrate]

2. Viewed Cold, Ma'am

This is likely to disadvantage the side hoping its voters will turn up great number on 'the day', not the side whose people have been mailing in and voting early in person....

[machoneman]

4. Yes, this move disadvantages the R-Scums (day of election voting) more than our side. But wait!

Watch the R-Scums now file suit saying the move to close said sites was illegal and beyond the local election authorities mandate.

Head smacking' the wall!

[The Magistrate]

5. I Would Not Put That Attempt Past Them, Sir

These wretches can hide behind a corkscrew without the slightest strain to their spine.

[SKKY]

6. Strange things are afoot in Texas. Why are they so worried about 127K votes?

...Could it be that internal numbers we're not privy to suggest, as James Carville keeps saying, that Texas is about to turn Blue? Or are they trying to set a precedent for other, more legit battleground states? I don't get their play here. The only way this makes any sense to me is if they are genuinely scared Texas is about to flip.

[Lonestarblue]

7. It's about the Texas House.

Republicans want Trump to win, but their real anxiety is the state House of Representatives. Democrats need only 9 seats to have a majority and thus a seat at the redistricting table. If Republicans are able to keep the House majority, they will completely control redistricting and can gerrymander the hell out of the districts to ensure that mostly Republicans get to the US House and to the state house.

[bluestarone]

8. Wondering here if

The one left open was in a RETHUG district?

[cannabis_flower]

9. No

It’s not. One of the Republican’s arguments was that they were all in Democratic districts. But Harris County give so many options for voting that it hardly matters. Early voting was open for two weeks every day of the week. Some locations were open 24 hours. All of the sites allow for curbside voting for handicapped voters and of course there was absentee voting by mail.

I couldn’t ask to live in a more voter friendly county. It’s other parts of the state that are the problem.

[bluestarone]

10. TY for this answer

Never know this from way up north here!!

[LisaL]

11. That location is the only drive through location to remain open

because it's literally is inside the building (even though it's drive through). Apparently on election day voting has to be inside the building, per the judge yesterday.

[bluestarone]

12. Also good to know TY

[cannabis_flower]

13. Unless you're handicapped ...

And unable to come in the building. Then you qualify for curbside voting.