AUSTIN, Texas _ Two civil and voting rights groups have sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in federal court, arguing that his day-old order limiting counties to one mail-in ballot drop-off location was an unreasonable burden on voting rights.
Making such a late change _ closing multiple drop-off sites that had been advertised for weeks in Travis and Harris counties in particular _ will lead to voter confusion and undermine public confidence in the Nov. 3 election, the lawsuit argued.
"In the midst of an election that is already underway, forcing such new burdens on voters who relied on a different set of election rules to make their voting plan, is unreasonable, unfair, and unconstitutional," said the lawsuit, filed late Thursday night in federal court in Austin.
Abbott's order also could result in ballots not being counted if voters, unable to visit a drop-off location, rely on a "hobbled" postal system to deliver their ballots before voting deadlines pass, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed by the Texas League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters of Texas and two voters.
Travis County closed three drop-off sites Friday, the first day Abbott's order took effect, leaving only the location at 5501 Airport Blvd. open. That's a change from an earlier decision to keep one of the downtown Austin locations open.
Abbott, a Republican, said his order was an election security measure that limited counties to one drop-off site where poll watchers _ designated by political parties and candidates _ must be allowed to observe ballot deliveries by voters.
The proclamation modified Abbott's July 27 order that acknowledged the pandemic's danger by adding six days of early voting and waiving a state law that limits mail-in ballot drop-off to Election Day only.
The state's disaster laws give Abbott broad emergency powers to suspend laws and issue executive orders and proclamations that "have the force and effect of law" _ actions Abbott has taken numerous times since the original pandemic-related disaster declaration in March.
Democrats and civil rights groups sharply criticized the ordered closures as a stark attempt to limit voting opportunities in the state's urban counties, which are Democratic strongholds or trending that way.
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