U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, has rejected a bid by Texas Republicans to throw out 127,000 ballots cast in Harris County (Houston) due to lack of standing.
The Republicans tried to argue that drive-thru sites (which were approved months ago by the Texas Secretary of State) are less secure than in-person polling sites, but Judge Hanen said, “I ain’t buying that.”
If you want to understand why the GOPers wanted the votes tossed – Harris County is 25% Black and 43% Latinx.
🚨 Just now: U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a W. Bush appointee, has ruled Republicans lack standing to challenge 127k drive-thru votes cast in Harris County (#Houston).
— Zach Despart🖊️ (@zachdespart) November 2, 2020
🚨 Re: certain pending 5th Circuit appeal, Hanen says if he did find GOP had standing, he would likely halt drive-thru voting tomorrow. He orders Harris County to keep all drive-thru memory cards separate in case higher court intervenes.
— Zach Despart🖊️ (@zachdespart) November 2, 2020
BREAKING: Federal Judge rebuffs GOP attempt to throw away 127,000 Houston ballots. The votes will stand.https://t.co/dMVMJLWERh
— Nick Knudsen 🇺🇸 (@DemWrite) November 2, 2020
Just in on Texas voting case: Federal judge rejects bid to throw out 127,000 drive-through votes in Harris County, @James_Barragan reports. #TexasVote #Houston #HarrisCounty #txlege #Election2020 #VOTE #ElectionDay https://t.co/RSsTavm9Ep
— John Gravois (@Grav1) November 2, 2020
Remember: Texas has the most Black voters of all states. Harris County holds Houston—Texas’s largest city. The county is 25% Black and 43% Latinx.
Those who use drive-thru voting tend to do so for (1) health/safety reasons; and (2) because they lack childcare options.
— Adrienne Lawrence (@AdrienneLaw) November 2, 2020
