A federal judge on Monday rejected a request from Republicans to invalidate 127,000 ballots that had already been dropped by drive-thru polling stations in Harris County, Texas.
Why it’s important: Harris County, which includes the city of Houston, is the most populous county in Texas and, according to Bloomberg, voted for Hillary Clinton over President Trump in 2016.
- The ruling comes a day after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a similar attempt by Republicans in Harris County.
- Texas, which has not backed Democrats for president since 1976, has been given the go-ahead by the Cook Political Report. Biden could secure his way to the White House if the state sec sec 38 voter votes.
Details: Republicans argue in their lawsuit that Harris County violated state law by setting up drive-through voting sites, which they claimed to favor Democrats, according to the New York Times.
- Curbside voting is permitted under state law for voters who are ill or disabled. Republicans argue that “the general fear of the electorate or lack of immunity from COVID-19 is not a ‘disability’ as defined by the Electoral Code,” and therefore not an excuse for an epidemic drive-thru voting. Should.
- District Court Judge Rewandrew Hahn, who is widely seen as a court of law, ruled that the plaintiff was not guilty. Republicans can still appeal.
Big picture: Dozens of lawsuits over voting rights continue across the country as Republicans claim to block efforts to expand the scope of voting – such as the term of the mail-in ballot – which was established during the epidemic.
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