More republican voter suppression

This time in Texas. The governor has ordered the closure of all but one voter drop-off points in each county.

"The proclamation by Mr Abbott will cause "widespread confusion and voter suppression", said Harris County clerk Chris Hollins in a statement. Harris County, which encompasses Houston, is the most populous county in the state.

"Multiple drop-off locations have been advertised for weeks," he said. "To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location...is prejudicial and dangerous."


https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54380684

In Michigan we can drop them off at our city clerk's office. You ever been in Texas? From what I remember driving to Big Bend the counties are pretty damned big, like all things in Texas.

A balant effort at voter suppression. One of the counties in Texas is the size of Rhode Island.
To vote by mail in Texas you must:
To be eligible to vote early by mail in Texas, you must:

be 65 years or older;
be sick or disabled;
be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or
be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.


To request the absentee ballot you must:
Review the absentee ballot application and confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
Fill out the application completely.
Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 23, 2020.
When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.


Now, thinking as a Republican,  for a suitable, single  drop off box in Colorado, I suggest Mt Elbert. Suggested drop-off attire: hiking gear, grappling hooks, O2 tanks. etc

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

So, what is the problem?  I thought you guys on the left were all for MAIL-IN Ballots.  

Is there a problem w/mailing it in?  Don't you want 100% mail in voting?

Rich:

I assume you know and appreciate that our Mail-in system in Colorado has worked great for a decade.  I also assume you know that "Mail-in" is a catch-all phrase we use for our system where ballots are mailed out, and then returned by mail, returned to a drop box, or returned to a government office.  I also assume you know, if you have been paying attention to my posts at all, that in Colorado the majority of ballots are returned to drop boxes, since we are strongly encouraged not to mail them in within a week of election day.  This is of course necessary because Colorado prudently does not count ballots received after COB on election day.

Given that drop boxes are a key aspect of an intelligently designed mail-in system, I can not see why Abbott would limit the number of boxes other than to make voting inconvenient, thus suppressing the vote.

Also, I have been following this issue fairly closely, and I have not seen a single person call for actual 100% strict mail return of the ballots.  Drop boxes are a key feature of every system.  I assume you know this.

I've asked you many times and you always twist and dodge, but here is one more for the road:  Do  you have any problem with the CO mail-out / mail-in / drop off system?

Jim

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

A balant effort at voter suppression. One of the counties in Texas is the size of Rhode Island.
To vote by mail in Texas you must:
To be eligible to vote early by mail in Texas, you must:

be 65 years or older;
be sick or disabled;
be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance; or
be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.


To request the absentee ballot you must:
Review the absentee ballot application and confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
Fill out the application completely.
Submit the request to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 23, 2020.
When your ballot arrives, read it carefully and follow the instructions to complete it and return it.


Now, thinking as a Republican,  for a suitable, single  drop off box in Colorado, I suggest Mt Elbert. Suggested drop-off attire: hiking gear, grappling hooks, O2 tanks. etc

Mt. Elbert is a reasonably easy climb Rod.  You'd be better off with your drop box on something more remote - maybe Capital Peak near Aspen.  The only non-technical  approach involves a long knife-edge ridge you have scoot along on your butt for quite a ways.  Fatal drop on each side.  My wife and I looked at it years ago, and chickened out completely...

Jim

Attached Image:

Originally Posted by Maurice Clark

This time in Texas. The governor has ordered the closure of all but one voter drop-off points in each county.

"The proclamation by Mr Abbott will cause "widespread confusion and voter suppression", said Harris County clerk Chris Hollins in a statement. Harris County, which encompasses Houston, is the most populous county in the state.

"Multiple drop-off locations have been advertised for weeks," he said. "To force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location...is prejudicial and dangerous."


https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54380684

Hi Maurice,

As you know, I'm a Texan, and I'm no fan of Abbot, but let me explain a little bit about what is going on here.

First, you have to understand that Abbot, while a Republican, is not popular in the party's far-right wing. They are eternally mad at him about something, and it almost always has to do with they think he is not right-wing enough. For example, they are mad at him about our shut-down. They are mad at him about our mask mandate, and they are mad at him for starting early voting six days early on Oct. 13th instead of Oct. 19th. In fact, they are right now in the process of suing him over this, and it's unclear if early voting in Texas will start on Oct. 13th.

Second, unless you are over age 65, it's almost impossible to get a Texas mail-in ballot. So, if this were an attempt at voter suppression, it's not suppressing the vote Republicans would want to suppress; i.e., most older voters vote Republican.

Third, you can always mail your ballot, which most voters will do anyway. Like most systems, you can track your mail ballot too. A drop-off location is not strictly speaking necessary.

Lastly, most counties have only ever had one drop off location, the county clerk's office usually. The sites were expanded due to COVID by local officials, but for example, Tarrant county where I live has only ever had one location.

What is really going on here in my humble opinion is Abbot is trying to appease the far-right wing faction of the party for his political expediency and survival. In other words, he's tossing them a bone, so they will get off his back.

Originally Posted by James Lacey

Hi Maurice,

As you know, I'm a Texan, and I'm no fan of Abbot, but let me explain a little bit about what is going on here.

Thanks for the context, James, it's always good to have some local intelligence.

Jim

Originally Posted by James Brown

Thanks for the context, James, it's always good to have some local intelligence.

Jim

You two are hopelessly optimistic about this forum. It's so cute.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Thanks for the context, James, it's always good to have some local intelligence.

Jim

Yeah, personally I think Texas has one of the most onerous voting systems in the nation. However, this is not about voter suppression. It's about Abbot and his ongoing battles with the far-right wing faction of his party.

Originally Posted by Russ Carroll

You two are hopelessly optimistic about this forum. It's so cute.

Well, there is no sense in being pessimistic. It's not like it would work anyway.