Texas gov. shuts down mail ballot drop-off sites
Texas Governor Greg Abbott made it harder to vote by mail in the second biggest state in the country on Thursday, issuing a proclamation limiting all counties to just one site for voters to drop off mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day.
The order significantly impacts Harris County, which has more than 4 million residents who now have a single drop-off location for mail-in ballots in a county spread out over more than 1,700 square miles. Harris County, which includes Houston, is the state's most populous county and a Democratic stronghold, which had opened 12 sites to collect early mail-in ballots.
The order also affects Travis County, which includes Austin, another reliably Democratic city, which now must reduce its four drop-off locations to one.
In a statement, the Republican governor said: "As we work to preserve Texans' ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting."
The mayor of Houston called the move "a direct attempt at voter suppression" and said that we should "stop trying to create obstacles and distractions with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud."
Texas has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in more than four decades, but is seen as potentially competitive this year, though polls show President Donald Trump with a narrow lead.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Republicans in South Carolina asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a witness signature requirement for mail-in ballots before the election. And in key battleground Pennsylvania, Republicans have appealed to the Supreme Court to block a decision to count ballots received by mail up to three days after Election Day.
