A federal appeals court has blocked a judge’s ruling that had blocked Governor Greg Abbott’s order requiring just one mail-in ballot drop off location in each county. The ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Saturday was in response to an emergency appeal from Attorney General Ken Paxton. A federal judge in Austin Friday blocked Abbott’s proclamation, stating it placed a burden especially on elderly and disabled Texans who would not be able to travel long distances to drop off their mail-in ballot during the early voting period. Voting rights groups had also argued if it was too close to the election to change the law to allow straight-ticket voting, it’s also too close to order a plan eliminating dozens of mail-in ballot drop-off sites.
