Texas Governor Greg Abbott has limited counties to one location where voters are able to drop off their completed mail-in ballots.
Abbott Introduces “Enhanced Security Protocols”
Abbott issued the proclamation restricting Texas counties to one ballot dropoff location on Thursday afternoon.
The proclamation, Abbott says, was due to concerns over voter security.
It also said that counties must allow any poll watchers to “observe any activity conducted at the early voting clerk’s office.”
“The state of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our election,” a statement released by Abbott said.
“These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting.”
BREAKING: Gov. Abbott issues proclamation CLOSING (as of Oct. 2) satellite offices where voters can drop off completed mail-in ballots.
Counties can only have 1 dropoff point, he says.
Travis has 4, including 3 downtown.
Harris has 12.— Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) October 1, 2020
It follows the filing of a lawsuit in Houston on Monday by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which claimed that hundreds of noncitizens had been registered to vote in Harris County.
RELATED: Lawsuit: Hundreds Of Noncitizens Registered To Vote In Harris County, Texas
Houston, in Harris County, is the most populous city in the state, and the fourth largest in the country.
Texas Democrat Chair: Vote “These Cowards” Out
Democrats slammed the move, claiming it was some form of “thinly-veiled effort” to “suppress votes” during the election.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued a fuming statement, claiming that Republicans are “on the verge of losing.”
“Governor Abbott is trying to adjust the rules last minute,” the statement read.
“Courts all over the country, including the Fifth Circuit yesterday, have held that it is too late to change election rules, but our failed Republican leadership will try anyway.”
The statement went on to argue that “Democracy itself is on the ballot,” and that Texans must vote out “these cowards” in charge.
“Governor Abbott and Texas Republicans are scared,” it said.
RELATED: Trump Beating Biden In Voter Registration In Key Battleground States
“We are creating a movement that will beat them at the ballot box on November 3rd, and there’s nothing these cheaters can do about it.”
Dana DeBeauvoir, the Democratic clerk of Travis County, said that she will be looking into a legal challenge of the order, which she said was “intended to be disruptive,” and called it a “deliberate attempt to manipulate the election.”
Voter Security A Key Issue In This Election
Voter security is on the mind of many during this election, following the various security breaches, admin failures, and accusations of voter fraud that have appeared across the media.
[totalpoll id=”211595″]
In New York City just this week, voters received mail-in ballots with the incorrect name and address attached, something that could easily result in the ballot being invalidated if cast with the incorrect information.
Also, according to Gothamist, signing the envelope with another persons name/address on it invalidates the ballot, so who knows how many people’s votes could be potentially thrown out.
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) September 29, 2020
RELATED: Democrat Operative Claims He Was Involved In Massive Mail-In Voting Fraud For Decades
While last week in Pennsylvania, seven military ballots cast for President Trump were found discarded by officials in Luzerne County.
“It is the vital duty of government to ensure that every properly cast vote is counted,” US Attorney David J Freed said in a statement about the missing ballots.