Travis County officials say they plan to fight Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 order limiting the number of places where voters can hand deliver mail-in ballots.
Abbott announced the order Thursday, the same day local election officials opened the drop-off sites.
鈥淯nder this proclamation, beginning on October 2, 2020, mail ballots that are delivered in person by voters who are eligible to vote by mail must be delivered to a single early voting clerk鈥檚 office location as publicly designated by a county鈥檚 early voting clerk,鈥� Abbott said in a statement.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said the county had set up four sites for voters to hand deliver their ballots. She called the order "most unfortunate鈥� and said she plans to 鈥渃hallenge the governor鈥� and his effort to close three of those sites.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what is going to happen to the governor鈥檚 order until we get to the point that I can talk about it in court,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the meantime, I am still going to listen to what the county attorney tells me is the appropriate thing for the county clerk to do. And that is what we will follow.鈥�
Because of the order, she later tweeted, only one site would be open for people to drop off ballots Friday: 5501 Airport Blvd.
Due to the Governor鈥檚 proclamation, only 5501 Airport Blvd will be open for hand delivery of mail-in ballots tomorrow, October 2. Voters can hand deliver their own personal mail-in ballots tomorrow from 8 AM-5 PM at this location.
All other locations will be closed tomorrow. 鈥� Travis County Clerk (@TravisCoClerk)
A few other urban counties, including Harris County, are opening a number of drop-off sites for voters amidst concerns about the United States Postal Service.
An unprecedented number of Texans are expected to vote by mail this year, particularly those who are disabled, over 65 or in one of the other limited categories the state allows.
In past presidential elections, DeBeauvoir said, her office received an average of 27,000 applications for mail-in ballots. So far this year, it has received 71,000 applications, she said.
Concerns over handling the increase in mail-in ballots forced local election officials in populous counties to come up with more options for people planning to vote by mail in the upcoming election.
These hand-delivery sites, or in-person drop-off sites, were among the solutions.
DeBeauvoir said Abbott鈥檚 sudden disapproval of these sites is 鈥渢argeted鈥� at urban counties, which tend to be heavily Democratic.
鈥淭his is a deliberate attempt to manipulate the election,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f the governor was truly worried about this, he could have stopped this program more than a month ago or contacted the urban counties that are all doing the same thing Travis County is doing.鈥�
In response to the governor鈥檚 order, Texas Democrats called Republicans 鈥渃heaters.鈥�
鈥淩epublicans are on the verge of losing, so Governor Abbott is trying to adjust the rules last minute,鈥� Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. 鈥淕overnor Abbott and Texas Republicans are scared. We are creating a movement that will beat them at the ballot box on November 3, and there鈥檚 nothing these cheaters can do about it.鈥�
Austin鈥檚 lone Democratic Congressman, Lloyd Doggett, called Abbott鈥檚 order an 鈥渙utrageous act of voter suppression鈥� aimed at affecting the election.
鈥淭his sabotage is not about election security,鈥� he said in a statement, 鈥渋t is about Republican political insecurity. With over a month to return your ballot, voting by mail remains the safest way to participate.鈥�
In his statement, Abbott said the order was an effort to enhance 鈥渂allot security protocols鈥� for mail-in ballots, though he offered no evidence having multiple sites would affect the security of these ballots.
"The State of Texas has a duty to voters to maintain the integrity of our elections," Abbott said. "As we work to preserve Texans鈥� ability to vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take extra care to strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state. These enhanced security protocols will ensure greater transparency and will help stop attempts at illegal voting."
This story has been updated.
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