HOUSTON – A federal judge has temporarily blocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that limits mail-in ballot drop-off locations to one per county.
In his preliminary injunction issued late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman said the public interest is not served by enforcement of Abbott’s proclamation that the “plaintiffs have shown likely violates their fundamental right to vote.”
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Abbott’s order issued last week also required poll watches to monitor activity conducted at the drop-off locations related to the delivery of marked mail ballots. Pitman did not block that part of the order.
The governor said the rule was meant to “strengthen ballot security protocols throughout the state.”
Democrats blasted the Republican governor’s rule, calling it “modern-day voter suppression.”
Harris County, the state’s largest, had originally planned to have more than 10 drop-off locations.