Texas Dems push to expand mail-in voting for eligible voters under 65
AUSTIN, Texas - It’s almost election time and mail-in ballots continue to be a contentious issue amongst Democrats and Republicans.
On Monday, Texas Democrats argued before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals citing the 26th Amendment.
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“The central case of our claim we are making is the state of Texas offers vote-by-mail to individuals over the age of 65,” said Texas Democratic General Counsel, Chad Dunn. “But everyone under the age of 65 is limited by various excuses like being disabled or being outside of the state during the time of voting.”
The Democratic party has attempted to expand mail-in ballot voting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. At first Texas Democrats sued the state saying that COVID-19 is a threat and should constitute as an illness or disability but it didn’t hold up in courts.
RELATED: Federal court grants injunction on Texas Democratic Party's vote-by-mail lawsuit
The Texas GOP has said expanding mail-in ballots to everyone could lead to voter fraud.
“The overwhelming majority of Republicans are for stronger builder security of the ballot. We want our ballot places to be more secure, not less secure,” said Travis County GOP communications director Andy Hogue. “If you are inclined to not stick cash in an envelope when paying a bill then you should be equally concerned with sending your ballot through the mail.
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The Travis County Clerk’s office expects to process more than 100,000 mail-in ballots for this upcoming election. Dana DeBeauvoir said her office is working on providing drive-thru ballot drop off locations for mail-in ballots where people could surrender a ballot, show their ID and sign a registry.
RELATED: Ken Paxton files petition to Texas Supreme Court against mail-in voting
Texas Democrats hope to receive a response from the courts before the October 23rd mail-in ballot application deadline.
For more information on how to vote by mail, click here.
For more on the 2020 election, click here.
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