Suit fights order on ballot dropoff
Groups accuse Abbott of voting rights violations
Voting rights groups including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the League of Women Voters of Texas on Friday sued Gov. Greg Abbott in federal court for his order limiting mail ballot dropoff sites to one per county.
The proclamation, which took effect Friday, forced several of the state’s largest counties, including Harris and Travis, to get rid of additional sites they had added for voter convenience and safety during the pandemic.
Abbott said the move was to combat voter fraud, though he offered no evidence and election law experts have said it is highly unlikely.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, alleges that the order violates the Voting Rights Act and First and 14th Amendments, which guarantee equal protection of the right to
vote, and will disproportionately affect minorities and older citizenswho are at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.
Attorneys for plaintiffs and spokespeople for the Texas attorney general and the governor did not comment.
Voters who requested mail ballots thinking that the locations would be open will now have to travel farther, face longer wait times and risk their exposure to COVID-19, the suit filed Friday said. In addition, if they choose to useU.S. mail, theywill have to “rely on a hobbled postal mail system — that has expressed a lack of confidence in its own ability to timely deliver the mail.”
“In the midst of an election that is already underway, forcing such newburdens on voterswho relied on a different set of election rules to make their voting plan, is unreasonable, unfair, and unconstitutional,” the suit reads.
Republicans including Texas GOP Chair AllenWest cheered Abbott’s order, which also allows poll watchers to oversee dropoff.
The governor was simply doing his duty to safeguard the election, West said in a statement.
“(Harris County Clerk) Chris Hollins and the Democrat Party are responsible for these restrictions, because of their blatant election maleficence, such as turning away poll watchers at the dropoff locations.”
Similar legal challenges are also underway in the presidential battlegroundstates ofOhio andPennsylvania over ballot dropoff.
Thursday’smove by Abbottwas in stark contrast to a legal argument that Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins had made in response to a lawsuit the day prior.
Defending the state from a suit filed by Republican activists over the legality of the sites, Hawkins onWednesday argued in a brief to the Texas Supreme Court that clerks’ “office” in Abbott’s previous order could be interpreted to include plural “offices.” The Texas Secretary of State’s office also had told local officials that any clerk’s office sufficed for dropoff.
The suits come as the U.S. SupremeCourt agreed Friday to take
up a case that originated in Arizona that has the potential to strip the Voting Rights Act of certain protections for minorities. The court, which could soon have a 6-3 conservative majority if President Donald Trump’s nominee Amy Coney Barrett is approved, will be decidingwhether prohibiting outof-precinct voting and third-party ballot collection, for certain groups, violates the act.
‘Ground zero’
This election year is already one of the most litigious in American history, owing in part to the high-stakes presidential race at the top of the ticket and in part to pandemic policies like expanded mail-in voting, election experts said.
That’s even more pronounced in a state like Texas that has some of the country’s most restrictive voting laws and already frequently comes up against myriad legal challenges.
While many cases have arisen due to states changing their election procedures because of the pandemic, a Southern Methodist University law professor pointed out that in Texas, the suits have more often been prompted by the state’s inaction.
“Sadly, Texas has been ground zero when it comes to voter sup
pression,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, whose organization has filed more than two dozen suits nationwide this election.
“The reason in part why you’re seeing so many lawsuits this season is because of states like Texas that have been recalcitrant and borderline hostile when it comes to addressing the real barriers that voters face amid the pandemic.”
So far this year, state and federal courts have tackled whether lack of immunity to COVID-19 qualifies voters formail-in ballots, whether removing straight-ticket voting violates the constitution, whether online voter registration should be available for Texans when they renew their driver’s licenses, and whether the state can ban temporary voting sites, among others.
The court also this week heard arguments in a case questioning the legality ofHarris County sending mail ballot applications to all
registered voters and is set to consider another about the constitutionality of Abbott extending the early voting period by six days.
TheU.S. Supreme Court, where Friday’s case could eventually land, has historically resisted making decisions that would affect an election near the start of voting, based on a long-running precedent. It was under that precedent that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a district court ruling that would have reinstated straight-ticket voting in Texas last week.
Still, it’s not completely unheard of. The high court this spring settled a dispute inWisconsin over when absentee ballots were due to be received just one day before the state’s primary election.
A partisan divide
Despite Texas having some of the most restrictive voting and vote-by-mail laws in the country — it’s one of just five states where voters have to provide an excuse other than COVID-19 to request a mail ballot— counties have reported higher-than-normal levels of interest in the method.
To manage the influx, Harris County had planned on having locations at the main county clerk office and11annex offices throughout the 1,777-square-mile county. Neighboring Fort Bend County had planned to open five locations, and Travis County had planned on having three in addition to its main office.
Dallas County told CBS 11 News that it had planned to open multiple locations as well.
County officials said they were given no notice of the order, which took effect Friday, 24 hours after it was issued.
Republicans like West and House Speaker DennisBonnenexpressed support, saying the focus on the latest order ignores the actions the governor has taken to create more voting opportunities, such as allowing more time for inperson ballot dropoff.
“So I’m clear, @GregAbbott_TX’s order will let Texans drop ballots off in person at any time before/on Election Day & somehow that’s voter suppression?” Bonnen tweeted. “This didn’t even exist before — you could only do it ON Election Day. Sounds like he’s expanding voting access to me.”
Meanwhile, Democrats and voting rights activists have characterized the order as yet another instance of voter suppression in a state that already makes it difficult to cast a ballot.
“As many states are expanding ballot dropoff options to ensure voter confidence this year, it is vile to see Texas’ attempts to do the opposite,” said Celina Stewart, senior director of advocacy and litigation for the League of Women Voters.
Ralph Edelbach, 82, a Cypress resident who is one of the individual voter plaintiffs in Friday’s lawsuit, had planned to vote by mail and use a Harris County dropoff center rather than mail because of his concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s timeliness. The closest site was about 16 miles from his house.
Because of Abbott’s order, however, Edelbach will now have to travel more than double that distance to the nearest dropoff location 36 miles away, a nearly hourand-a-half round-trip drive.
“Inevitably, for some absentee voters, their hope will be misplaced, and their ballot will not be counted,” the suit states.