DROP-OFF LOCATIONS LIMITED - With just a few weeks to go before the start of early voting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced last week that he is slashing the number of drop-off sites for mail-in ballots. Abbott’s order limits each county to just one drop-off site apiece for mail-in ballots, a measure he says is necessary to improve ballot security Up to now, Harris County, that includes the major metropolitan area of Houston had 12 drop-off sites. Harris County Clerk -Chris Hollins says he’s willing to fight Governor Greg Abbott’s proclamation, claiming an abuse of power.
"You don't use your disaster power to make things worse for your constituents. You don’t use your disaster power to make things more dangerous for the people in Texas." Chris Hollins, Harris County Clerk
“You don’t use your disaster power to make things worse for your constituents. You don’t use your disaster power to make things more dangerous for the people in Texas. That’s simply wrong.," Hollins said. "It’s an abuse of power, and it’s something he should strongly reconsider, and if he doesn’t strongly reconsider himself, he’ll hear about it in the courts.”
A federal lawsuit challenging Abbott's proclamation has already been filed by several voting rights groups which say Abbott limiting one box per county equates to voter suppression during the Coronavirus pandemic. Governor Abbott’s proclamation, only allows one ballot drop-off location for each Texas county no matter how large or the size of the population. Harris County includes the city of Houston which has an estimated 2-million registered voters.
