Texas Governor Sued After Targeting ‘Most Vulnerable Voters’ Ahead of 2020 Presidential Election

Voters in Texas are suing the governor after he limited the number of mail-in ballot drop-off locations to one per county.

The Washington Post reported Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that the single drop-off location per county was the best way to ensure “ballot security” amid President Trump’s concern over the validity of mail-in voting.

“The State of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections,” the governor said in a statement on Thursday.

“These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.”

Voters in Texas responded to the new mail-in voting arrangement by suing Abbott. The suit filed seeks to block Abbott’s order and instead allow counties to offer multiple ballot drop-off locations since the number of mail-in ballots are inspected to increase amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The impact of this eleventh-hour decision is momentous, targets Texas’ most vulnerable voters — older voters, and voters with disabilities — and results in wild variations in access to absentee voting drop-off locations depending on the county a voter resides in,” the lawsuit stated.

“It also results in predictable disproportionate impacts on minority communities . . . already hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis.”

In a new conference on Friday, Democrat Chris Hollins suggested Abbott was intentionally trying to control the way residents vote. “Make no mistake, this is intentional,” he said.

“This is being done to make it more difficult for you to vote. But I urge you — do not be discouraged. If every voter only takes away one thing from today, I want it to be that your vote is your voice in our democracy.”

Hollins believes Abbott’s orders are a form of voter suppression and will only confuse voters ahead of the election.

“Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations. But to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2,000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous,” he said.