Voter suppression has long been a cherished tradition among Republicans, but with 33 days to go until the election and the outlook for Donald Trump looking extremely not good, the Grand Old Party apparently got together on a Zoom call and agreed to go all in on preventing Democrats from casting ballots. In South Carolina, Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to reinstate witness signatures for mail-in ballots, while in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott wants to make it as difficult as possible for people to drop off a ballot should they decide that sending it in the mail would be too risky given the president’s naked attempts to handicap the Postal Service.
CNN reports that Abbott issued a proclamation on Thursday limiting drop-off locations for mail-in ballots to one site per county. And we’ll give you two guesses as to which party the move will disproportionately affect, but you’ll only need one:
The move significantly affects the Democratic stronghold of Harris County, which is the state’s largest county by population—one of the most populous in the country—and covers a massive area. It must now reduce its 11 drop-off locations down to one starting on Friday. Travis County, which includes the reliably Democratic city of Austin, must limit its four drop-off locations to one.... The Republican governor said in a statement the order was made to enhance ballot security. It also allows poll watchers to observe the in-person delivery of mail-in ballots by voters, but critics say it could severely limit access for many voters.
Weirdly, few people are buying the “ballot security” bit:
In a statement, the group Let America Vote called the move “a shameful...act...that will disproportionately impact the large number of Black and Latinx voters in Texas‘s biggest counties.” Texas’s Democratic Party chair, Gilberto Hinojosa, noted, accurately, that “Republicans are on the verge of losing, so Governor Abbott is trying to adjust the rules last minute.” He added: “Governor Abbott and Texas Republicans are scared. We are creating a movement that will beat them at the ballot box on November 3, and there’s nothing these cheaters can do about it.”
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Report: The Trump administration directed officials to make sympathetic comments about teen vigilante charged with killing two protesters
As a reminder, Trump is running on a “law-and-order” platform, which apparently applies to neither him nor his white supporters. Per NBC News:
DCToTexasTransolant on October 2nd, 2020 at 04:05 UTC »
I will be working polls during early voting in north Texas. When not working at polls , I will be executing get out the vote drives.
FUCK GREG ABBOTT and all his corrupt, cowardly cronies.
Your days in power are drawing to a close, and those of us who have lived through your corruption will remember it. We have the rest of your lives to repair the damage you’ve done, and to exact justice for your crimes.
Count on it.
font9a on October 2nd, 2020 at 03:46 UTC »
In Texas, if you receive and request an absentee (aka mail in) ballot, and you decide instead to vote in person you must bring your absentee ballot with you to the polling site and *surrender it *when you cast your vote!
Edit: I’ve been informed that additionally, if you’ve lost your ballot, you can also go to the polls and vote provisionally
Funkeyton on October 2nd, 2020 at 03:26 UTC »
EARLY VOTING IN TEXAS STARTS OCTOBER 13-30