Texas Supreme Court blocks move to toss drive-thru votes, but legal battle isn't complete

Harris County drive-thru voting.
(Image credit: Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday denied a petition brought forth by Republicans to toss out 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru lanes in Harris County, the Lone Star State's most populous county and home to Houston, The Austin-American Statesman reports. The opinion, which is viewed as a victory for Democrats, was made without comment.

The plaintiffs — including conservative activist Steven Hotze, state Rep. Steve Toth (R), congressional candidate Wendell Champion, and judicial candidate Sharon Hemphill — have argued drive-thru voting sites are an illegal expansion of curbside voting that violates Texas election law and the U.S. Constitution. The state's high court didn't agree, but there is an emergency hearing at the federal court level scheduled for Monday, so the votes remain in jeopardy. Still, Harris County attorneys reportedly believe that the Texas decision will prompt the district judge to rule similarly. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.