The Texas Supreme Court denied a petition by state Republicans to invalidate ballots cast by drive-thru voting in Harris County, which includes Houston.
What We Know:
- The plaintiffs are a group of Republican activists and three Republican candidates from Texas. They filed the petition arguing that drive-thru voting in Harris County is an illegal extension of curbside voting, which is meant for people with illness or disability.
- There was no opinion issued with the ruling. The plaintiffs are also filing a suit in federal court. Harris County set up 10 drive-thru voting locations for the 2020 election. All locations are connected to a traditional polling place. During the early voting period, close to 127,000 ballots were cast at these sites, making up about 10% of all early ballots cast.
- Harris County clerk Chris Hollins told NPR that the lawsuit was “baseless” and that it “is simply an un-American attempt to disenfranchise voters”.
- During this election season, Republicans and President Donald Trump have claimed that expanding voting capabilities leads to fraud, without citing any facts. Election security experts have asserted that vote-by-mail and ballot drop boxes do not increase the likelihood of fraud.
The federal court case concerning Harris County was heard Monday by Judge Andrew Hanen. Judge Hanen also rejected the Republican attempt to invalidate the near 127,000 votes cast by drive-thru voting.
