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(Pexels)
Some voters who applied to vote by mail in Travis County have received ballots with only the July 14 special state senate contest on them, not any of the primary races.
<p>
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said on Twitter that the problem stems from the fact that a number of applicants did not select a party when applying for a mail-in ballot, which means that the primary runoff racesâthe entire ballot except the race to fill former state Sen. Kirk Watson's seatâare not on the forms that were mailed out.
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DeBeauvoir <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20200701/voters-who-received-mail-in-ballots-without-runoff-races-now-told-to-vote-in-" target="_blank">told the Austin American-Statesman t</a>hat voting by mail is not a "voter-friendly system" in Texas.
</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dce21de0aa41f9eee84e351d5c87ed0d" id="3c017"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1278328881745977344"><div style="margin:1em 0">Our office must receive ballot by mail applications by July 2 for the July 14 election. If you forgot to select a p⌠https://t.co/3AsYIno0nl</div> â Travis County Clerk (@Travis County Clerk)<a href="https://twitter.com/TravisCoClerk/statuses/1278328881745977344">1593612330.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
Those voters are now being told to cast a ballot curbside or in person.
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Travis County received <a href="https://austonia.com/politics/mail-in-voting-texas" target="_self">nearly as many vote-by-mail applications </a>for the rescheduled primary runoff as it did for the 2016 presidential election, which experts told Austonia is <a href="https://austonia.com/july-election-texas" target="_self">due to a combination of high turnout </a>and resistance to voting in person from people who are concerned about coronavirus.
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(Bizoo_n/Adobe)
Early voting for the July 14 primary runoff election, which includes the high-profile contest to determine which Democrat will face off against Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in November, begins Monday.
<p>The slate also includes congressional races and a number of local offices that were not settled during the regular primary, as well as the special election to fill former state Sen. Kirk Watson's seat. (<a href="https://www.kut.org/post/heres-whats-ballot-central-texas-july-14-election" target="_blank">KUT has a full list of candidates</a>.)</p><p>The runoff was supposed to take place last month but <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/20/texas-delaying-primary-runoff-election-response-coronavirus-outbreak/" target="_blank">was postponed</a> due to the coronavirus.</p>Rescheduled primary runoff elections do not typically see high voter turnout, but the July 14 contest may be the exception, if the mail-in ballot totals are any indication.
In-person voting
<p>Travis County has set up 20 polling locations for early voting and 100 for election day. Both<a href="https://countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov/elections/wait-time-map.html" target="_blank"> Travis County </a>and <a href="https://apps.wilco.org/elections/pollinglocator/getlocation.aspx" target="_blank">Williamson County </a>are maintaining live maps so voters can see what kind of lines are at each location before they go.</p><p>Officials are urging people to wear face masks and keep their distance from each other.</p><div id="81558" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e2db37b85b59d450e5d7cf38d1cfa9ed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277572809783422977" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Early voting for the July 14 election has started! Polls are open Monday-Friday 7AM-7PM and Saturday 12-6 PMđFind a⌠https://t.co/eFqewxERMH</div> — Travis County Clerk (@Travis County Clerk)<a href="https://twitter.com/TravisCoClerk/statuses/1277572809783422977">1593432068.0</a></blockquote></div>Mail-in voting
<p>The Travis County clerk has received more than 28,000 applications for mail-in ballots so far, which approaches the record set in the 2016 presidential election, and the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/21/texas-vote-by-mail-how-to/" target="_blank">deadline to apply is</a> still a few days away.</p><p>Applications must be received by July 2.</p><p>Texas only allows mail-in ballots in specific, limited cases: for those over 65, with a disability, out of town during an election, or in jail.</p><p>A flurry of recent lawsuits have attempted to expand voting by mail in light of the pandemic, but judges so far have ruled that fear of contracting the virus is not a valid reason to apply.</p><p>But while the rulings stipulate voters cannot claim fear of contracting the coronavirus as a disabilityâdefined by the state election code as a "sickness of physical condition" that could injure the voter's health should she vote in personâwhen applying for a mail-in ballot, it also makes clear that election officials can't question what that disability is.</p><p>Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir wrote in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/traviscountyclerk/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARC9I9wIlMWSmX3CyBnY9z9-UmmHeOaX9vBsSbJ5vDC48AVDWf7f8S6KdTDir50aMARjq64XYPsUnR6Y" target="_blank">a May 21 Facebook post</a> that her office "has no legal authority to administratively require voters to verify their disability at the time the application is submitted."</p><p>In response to a question asking if fear of COVID qualifies as a disability, DeBeauvoir explained: "A voter can take into consideration aspects of their health and their health history that are physical conditions in deciding whether, under the circumstances, to apply to vote by mail because of disability."</p><p>DeBeauvoir said her office has added temporary staff and additional scanning equipment to process the applications and mail out ballots in time.</p>From Your Site Articles
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(Darylann Elmi/Adobe)
The Travis County Elections Division received over 28,000 applications for mail-in ballots for local primary runoff electionsâthousands more than usual and approaching the record set in the 2016 general election.
<p>The July 14 election includes the Democratic primary runoff for district attorney and a <a data-linked-post="2646220254" href="https://austonia.com/politics/texas-senate-14" target="_blank">special election for Texas Senate District 14</a>.</p><p>The county typically receives around 1,000 to 2,000 mail-in ballot applications for primary runoff elections, which have <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2018/05/22/texas-primary-runoffs-results-who-won/" target="_blank">historically low turnout</a>. To respond to the surge in applications, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir added temporary staff and additional scanning equipment. </p><p>As of last Friday, more than 17,000 mail-in ballots had been sent to voters. <br/></p><p>Travis County residents have until July 2 to apply for a mail-in ballot for the upcoming primary runoff election. </p><p>Texas only allows mail-in ballots in specific, limited cases: for those over 65, with a disability, out of town during an election, or in jail.</p><p>The right to vote by mail has been a topic of debate lately, as efforts to expand the practice in Texas in light of the coronavirus have made their way to the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.</p><p>Most recently, a federal judge <a href="https://austonia.com/politics/court-extends-block-on-vote-by-mail" target="_self"><u>extended an order blocking</u></a> a lower court ruling that would have allowed for more widespread mail-in voting in Texas.</p><p>The Texas Supreme Court <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/27/texas-vote-by-mail-coronavirus/" target="_blank"><u>ruled last month</u></a> that fear of the coronavirus or lack of immunity does not qualify as a disability or reason to apply for a mail-in ballot.</p><p>Most Americans support mail-in voting expansion. According to <a href="https://www.people-press.org/2020/04/28/two-thirds-of-americans-expect-presidential-election-will-be-disrupted-by-covid-19/" target="_blank"><u>a national survey</u></a> conducted by the Pew Research Center, 70% of Americans favor allowing any voter to vote by mail, and two-thirds said it is likely the presidential election will be disrupted by the pandemic. </p><p>In <a href="https://austonia.com/poll-should-texans-be-able-to-vote-by-mail" target="_blank">a poll of Austonia readers</a>, 85% said universal mail-in voting should be allowed in Texas this November.</p>
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Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
A group of plaintiffs who had sued to to expand mail-in voting in Texas due to coronavirus have asked the state appeals court to dismiss the case, the Texas Tribune reports.
<p>The request comes after, in a separate case, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that lack of immunity to coronavirus is not a valid reason to qualify for a mail-in ballot.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">The group of plaintiffs had previously convinced state District Judge Tim Sulak of Travis County that susceptibility to the coronavirus counts as a disability under state election law and is a legally valid reason for voters to request mail-in ballots. A panel of the 14th Court of Appeals of Texas <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/14/texas-appeals-court-allows-expansion-voting-mail/" target="_blank">let that ruling stand</a>, rebuffing Attorney General Ken Paxton's effort to have the ruling put on hold while he appealed it. The Texas Supreme Court then put it on hold.</p><p>Legal challenges in the federal court system remain active, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/04/federal-appeals-court-extends-block-voting-mail-expansion-texas/" target="_blank">according to the Tribune</a>.</p>
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The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals just extended the order that blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed for a widespread expansion of voting by mail in Texas, the Texas Tribune reports:
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">With early voting for the primary runoff elections starting later this month â and the Texas Supreme Court also <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/27/texas-vote-by-mail-coronavirus/" target="_blank">blocking expanded voting by mail in a separate case</a> âThursday's ruling effectively eliminates the possibility that Texas voters will be able to legally request mail-in ballots solely because they fear a lack of immunity to the new coronavirus will put them at risk if they vote in person.</p><p>In a poll,<a href="https://austonia.com/federal-judge-says-all-texans-can-vote-by-mail-during-pandemic" target="_blank"> 85% of Austonia readers</a> said that voting by mail should be allowed for all Texans in 2020.</p>
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Texas Supreme Court: lack of immunity to coronavirus does not qualify voters for mail-in ballot
28 May
The Texas Supreme Court ruled today that not being immune to coronavirus does not qualify voters for a mail-in ballot, The Texas Tribune reports:
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">In the latest twist in the legal fight over voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, the court agreed with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that the risk of contracting the virus alone does not meet the state's qualifications for voting by mail.</p><p>To qualify for an absentee ballot in Texas voters must be over 65 years of age, have a a disability or illness, be out of the country, or be in jail.</p>
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The Texas Tribune explains the latest development in the legal battle over expanding eligibility to vote by mail to all Texans during the pandemic:
<p style="margin-left: 20px;">The developments are the latest in a legal tennis match that in the last week alone has twice opened and then shut the door on a massive expansion of absentee voting in Texas as federal and state courts consider challenges to the state's rules for mail-in voting. The issue is being fought on two fronts now, but both likely lead to the U.S. Supreme Court as Texas Republican officials continue to resist expanding voting by mail during the pandemic.</p>
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