I lived in The Lone Star State long enough to learn that everything is bigger in Texas which refers to the enormity of the state's geographical area. In terms of square miles, Texas is the largest of the contiguous 48 states. Also, don’t mess with Texas, but this story is about Longhorn Voters. Here is a real news hook, written by my mentor, Doctor Ken
All eyes were on Texas in the US presidential election, which took place on Tuesday, although it may, take weeks to count the final votes. The 30 million people there represent 36 Electoral College votes. Population trends have pushed this Red state where George Bush was governor before being president, closer to being Blue, perhaps Purple. If Biden wins there, then President Trump’s path to winning 271 Electoral College votes is difficult if not impossible.
Texas is in the spotlight for several reasons, including its size, and the fact that more people voted early this year than voted there in the 2016 election. Preliminary statistics on the mail-in there suggests it tilts young and Democratic, which is bad news for Republicans.
No surprise then that Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge with a partisan reputation to throw out at least 117,000 ballots cast at drive-thru voting sites in Harris County, which is the Houston metropolitan area with its diverse population and heavily Democratic voter registration.
The issue of drive-thru exists because of Gregg Abbott, the Republican governor, limited mail-in drop boxes to one per each Texas County. Harris County is physically immense by US standards with 4.7 million residents. This became important after Republican pressure to delay mail forced the Postal Service to warn 46 states delayed mail-in ballots could disenfranchise their voters.
It landed in federal court only because the Texas Supreme Court, which is entirely Republican, refused consideration with but a single dissent. The lawyers for the GOP claim drive-thru violates the US Constitution based on a radical theory that only a state legislature has authority over election law.
“The other side has given every indication that they will challenge every ballot they can, at every step of the process,” said Chad Dunn, general counsel for the Texas Democratic Party and co-founder of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.
The back-story of how drive-thru was created demonstrates the difference between helping citizens vote and efforts to suppress voting. Harris County established 10 drive-thru voting locations for the 2020 general election.
Drivers pull into a large tent, where election officials confirm their identity, then give them privacy to vote. The process has proved wildly popular. Harris County additionally made 24-hour voting available over the last day of early voting. Nearly 10,000 voted between 7 p.m. and midnight. Hundreds more voted in the wee hours. So, if you build it, they will come.
Much of this results from the 2018 election of Lina Hidalgo as the head of the Commissioners Court, which is Harris County’s governing body. She is the first woman to be elected to that position in Texas, beating an 11-year Republican incumbent Republican. The 29 -year old Hidalgo, from Colombia, immigrated South America to the USA. She led the effort that enlarged Harris County’s election budget from $4 million to $31 million, tripling the number of voting locations, among other innovations.
BY KENNETH TIVEN