Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Texan reports:
Houston-area Republicans have filed a new lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) seeking to void ballots cast via the county’s new drive-thru voting stations.
Harris County interim Clerk Chris Hollins introduced the drive-thru voting stations as part of his S.A.F.E. Elections plan, portions of which have already been struck down by the SCOTX and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
One of the four plaintiffs is state Rep. Steve Toth [photo]. While Toth’s district lies in Montgomery County, he explained to The Texan that he joined the suit as a member of a co-equal body of government responsible for making laws that govern elections.
The Austin Statesman reports:
The Texas Supreme Court drew alarmed attention Friday after directing Harris County to respond to a petition that seeks to invalidate more than 117,000 votes cast in drive-thru lanes.
The court’s interest came as an unwelcome surprise to voting advocates and Harris County officials who were banking on a quick dismissal of the petition, filed by two GOP candidates and a Republican member of the Texas House.
After all, only one week earlier the same court had dismissed two petitions that sought to block drive-thru voting — available only in the growing Democratic bastion of Harris County — as illegal.
Forbes reports:
Harris County, which includes the city of Houston, is the most populated county in Texas, and the third most populous in the United States. It is also the only county in Texas to offer drive-thru voting, an expanded accommodation for voters in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Republicans have argued the voting sites are both illegal and set up to help Democrats, with the lawsuit claiming that nine of the 10 drive-thru sites are in areas favorable to Democrats.
The county is also the largest source of Democratic votes in the state, as Democratic presidential nominees have carried Harris County in each of the past three presidential elections.
Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting. They drew Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan Republican judges in the entire federal judiciary. This is alarming. https://t.co/VODOZrCoUF
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 31, 2020
Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to throw out 100,000 disproportionately Democratic votes.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 31, 2020
Texas Republicans are deploying the theory—recently endorsed by Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh—that only state legislatures have authority over elections. Because the Harris County Clerk implemented drive-through voting, Republicans say all 100,000 ballots must be tossed.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 31, 2020
Republicans are racing to federal court because they have lost in state courts (so far). The Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely Republican, refused to halt curbside voting in October when the GOP claimed it was illegal. https://t.co/ZxDTtzgYoY
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 31, 2020