This article is news with liberal commentary.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has ordered limiting drop boxes for mail-in ballots to one site per county, CNN reported on Thursday, October 1, 2020. Read story here.
Abbott’s maneuver appears to be specifically targeting the Democratic strongholds of Harris County, which includes Houston, and Travis County, which includes Austin. Harris County had 11 drop boxes, and Travis County had 4 drop boxes.
Abbott claims the order is to “enhance ballot security.” Its real purpose is making it more difficult to vote in Democratic counties. Just look at what Abbot said:
“The State of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections. As we work to preserve Texans’ ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.”
It’s pretty clear what his priorities are. Enabling Texans to vote during the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t even on the list. His actions work against that.
CNN said, “The state’s Democratic party chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, labeled it a ‘blatant voter suppression tactic’ in a press release,” which of course is exactly what it is. “It is a shameful, blatant act of voter suppression that will disproportionately impact the large number of Black and Latinx voters in Texas’ biggest counties.”
There’s a fine line between gaming the election system and sabotaging democracy. The GOP looks increasingly like an anti-democracy movement. Photo: Republican ballot processing facility in a Democratic Texas county