Texas judge: Masks required at polling sites

A federal judge in San Antonio has voided Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s exception to statewide mask mandates and ruled that everyone who enters or works at a polling place in the state must wear a face covering. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam, appointed by President Donald Trump, said the exemption violates the Voting Rights Act “because it creates a discriminatory burden on Black and Latino voters.” The pandemic has disproportionately affected minorities, placing them at higher risk of severe illness and death. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the order.

The Texas Supreme Court upheld Abbott’s order limiting counties to one mail-in ballot drop-off location, overturning lower courts. The ruling dissolved an injunction issued by a Democratic judge in Travis County that sought to bar enforcement of Abbott’s limit of drop-off locations as an impermissible burden on voting rights.

The all-Republican court determined that although Abbott restricted voters to one site per county, the governor actually had expanded voting opportunities. Under Texas law, voters can hand-deliver mail-in ballots only on Election Day, but Abbott used his emergency powers during the pandemic to allow deliveries for more than five weeks before Nov. 3.