AUSTIN, TX –Early voting in Texas will begin on Oct. 13 following a decision by the Texas Supreme Court which rejected a recent request by several top state of Texas Republicans.
Gov. Abbott in July ordered that early voting for the general election in Texas would begin a week earlier than usual in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but a number of prominent Republicans, including state party Chair Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and several members of the Texas Legislature challenged the proposal in September, arguing that Abbott defied state election law, which states that early voting typically begins on the 17th day before an election.
Gov. Abbott added an extra six day period to the early voting timeframe through an executive order as part of the emergency powers the governor has exercised during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the state’s highest civil court, which is held entirely by Republicans, the GOP officials who sued challenging Gov. Abbott’s early voting extension waited until the last minute to do so when the governor had already extended the early voting period for the primary election and announced that he would also do the same for the general election months ago.
Democrats have urged Republican leaders to expand voting access throughout the state, in particular by allowing more Texas voters to mail in their ballots, which is currently an option only available to voters who are 65 or over, cite a disability, confined in jail but otherwise eligible, or out of the county during voting periods.
However, these state Republican leaders have resisted the requests and continued fighting with the Democrats fiercely in court on such issues and sticking to business as usual.
Abbott’s order to extend the early voting period has been the main adjustment made by the state of Texas to adopt new voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic as local officials implement safety precautions at the polls, including strategic polling location choices, stocking up on hand sanitizer, and mandating social distancing in voting lines.
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