US election: Judge rejects Republican bid to throw out 127,000 Texas votes
- Conservative activists wanted ballots invalidated because they were cast at drive-through polling centres established during coronavirus pandemic
- Trump won Texas by nine points in 2016, but polls show Democrat Joe Biden still within reach in America’s biggest red state
A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-through polling centres established during the pandemic.
The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County, where a record 1.4 million early votes have already been cast. The county is the nation’s third largest and a crucial battleground in Texas, where President Donald Trump and Republicans are bracing for the closest election in decades on Tuesday.
US District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision to hear arguments on the brink of Election Day drew concern from voting rights activists, and came after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a nearly identical challenge over the weekend.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by conservative Republican activists who have filed a battery of court challenges over moves to expand voting options during the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges have not involved Trump’s campaign.
02:21
International election observers arrive in the US ahead of presidential vote
Another 20,000 or more voters were expected to use drive-through polling locations on Tuesday, said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, the county’s top elections official.