Ruling reinstates Texas cap on drop-off ballot sites
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal appeals court has reinstated a limit on the number of mailin ballot drop-off locations in Texas, although Gov. Greg Abbott and a federal judge came under criticism for trying to sidestep the Legislature to alter state election law.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals late Monday issued a stay of a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that the Republican governor’s order is a likely violation of a voter’s right to vote. Early voting started Tuesday in Texas.
“Leaving the Governor’s October 1 Proclamation in place still gives Texas absentee voters many ways to cast their ballots in the November 3 election,” Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote in the opinion. “These methods for remote voting outstrip what Texas law previously permitted in a pre-covid world. The October 1 Proclamation abridges no one’s right to vote.”
Abbott’s order limits mailin ballot drop-off locations to one per county, shuttering dozens of sites in some of Texas’ largest cities. The appeals court, however, noted that the order also provides Texans with 40 additional days to vote absentee and that they have many ways to deliver their absentee ballots before Nov. 3, including by hand and by mail.
Abbott said the limit on drop-off sites is needed to ensure election security, while Democrats and voting-rights groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, called it an effort to suppress voters.
Texas is one of just five states that did not substantially expand mail-in voting this year. To be allowed to vote by absentee ballot in Texas, voters must be 65 or older; have a disability; or be outside the county where they’re registered on Election Day and during early voting.
Long lines greeted voters Tuesday across Texas.
In suburban Houston’s Fort Bend County, technical problems kept machines offline for more than hour as hundreds of people waited to vote. The county’s top elected official said he would authorize an investigation.
“Those who are responsible will be held accountable,” said Fort Bend County Judge KP George.
Meanwhile in Virginia, an accidentally severed fiber optic cable shut down the online voter-registration system for several hours Tuesday, the last day to register before the election, authorities said.
The cable was inadvertently cut during a Chesterfield County roadside utilities project, according to the state’s information technology agency.
Six hours later, the Department of Elections issued a statement saying the portal was back online. While the site was down, people who wanted to register could still fill out applications in person.
They also could mail paper copies, as long as they are postmarked Tuesday, said Vicki Lewis, the voter registrar for Newport News. People who wanted to vote early were given provisional ballots, which will be counted the day after the election.
In Georgia, more than 128,000 people went to the polls Monday, a record for the first day of early voting in the state, according to the secretary of state’s office.
But some would-be voters turned up Monday only to find their county offices closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
By Tuesday morning, about 1.6 million people had requested absentee ballots, according to the secretary of state’s office. Of those, nearly 474,000 had been returned and accepted.
Long lines formed again Tuesday in some places.
In Florida, billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is donating $500,000 to juice Democratic turnout in Miami-Dade County.
The donation, the largest ever made to the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party, was made in an effort to lift former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances of winning the state, which would all but eliminate President Donald Trump’s path to a second term.
The money will be used to register Miami-Dade voters and knock on doors.
In a statement, Bloomberg highlighted the importance of Miami-Dade County.
“As one of the most diverse counties in Florida, Miami-Dade County is a particularly important county for a Democratic victory in Florida,” he said. “I’m glad to support the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee’s work to directly reach voters and urge them to cast their ballots.”
Information for this article was contributed by Ben Finley, Alan Suderman, Kate Brumback, Brian Slodysko, Russ Bynum and Denise Lavoie of The Associated Press. Acacia Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Texas is one of just five states that did not substantially expand mail-in voting this year.