Rachel Maddow sounded the alarm on Thursday about a desperate attempt by Republicans in Texas to prevent voters in urban counties from being able to turn in their ballots.
As the MSNBC host pointed out, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced earlier in the day that he was ordering the closure of a number of ballot drop-off sites across the state, proclaiming that each county – regardless of size or population – should only have one drop box.
“In big, diverse urban counties … where almost all of the Democratic votes will come from in Texas, this is a last-minute, no-notice shutdown to try to keep people from being able to vote,” Maddow said.
“Nervous much, Texas Republicans?” she added.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Video:
Rachel Maddow slams Texas Republicans for their “last-minute, no-notice shutdown to try to keep people from being able to vote” in the state. #maddow pic.twitter.com/TgrhQZeMPI
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) October 2, 2020
Maddow said:
Governor Abbott today with no warning said all of those [ballot drop-off sites] must be shut down tomorrow. One day’s notice. He has proclaimed, with a proclamation today, that there could only be one drop-off location per county, as of tomorrow. So like Harris County, which includes Houston – Harris County, pick one, you have to close 11 of your voting sites. To be clear, Harris County geographically is roughly the size of Rhode Island. It’s nearly 2,000 square miles. More than 4.6 million people live there. They have to close 11 of the 12 sites where people have been dropping off ballots. You only get one from here on out and you get one day’s notice to make the call. Nervous much, Texas Republicans? I mean it’s true, in lots of small, lightly populated rural Texas counties, maybe only having one drop-off site is not going to make that big of a difference. But in big, diverse urban counties – literally big 2,000 square mile counties – where almost all of the Democratic votes will come from in Texas, this is a last-minute, no-notice shutdown to try to keep people from being able to vote.
Texas is in reach for Democrats – and Republicans know it
Regardless of whether Joe Biden wins Texas in November, the GOP seems to recognize that the state is increasingly in reach for the Democrats.
Whether it happens in this presidential election or a future contest, Texas is on the path to becoming a blue state. Right now, in fact, Trump only leads Biden by three percentage points in the Lone Star state.
Instead of trying to win over the increasingly diverse population in Texas, Republicans are working overtime to keep folks from being able to cast a ballot – and they’re doing it in plain sight.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
