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Vote by Mail to Save Lives from COVID
[Dallas News] For the past two months, the state of Texas has been in a legal battle with the Texas Democratic Party and voting rights groups over a push to expand mail voting during the coronavirus pandemic.Didn't I just see the other day that even with comorbidities, those less that 65 years old have a 97% chance of surviving?  In state and federal courts, the parties have argued and gotten orders from judges to allow more people to vote by mail. Those orders have been appealed and fought over.You just gotta find the right judge. Expanded mail voting has been on in the state, then off; then on again, then off again. Most of the fighting has involved legalistic procedural challenges. Shellie, a sixth-generation Texan, has no use for such ticky-tacky procedural arguments. But the outcome may determine whether she has to place her life in danger come July when she plans to vote in the state’s primary runoffs. Assuming the pandemic is not ancient history by then. Shellie, 47, was diagnosed with hypertension 12 years ago. That condition, which she shares with nearly half of all adults in the United States, puts her at high risk for severe illness if she develops COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. It’s the reason she wants to vote by mail. She can apply for an exception. Dead people can't. "I don’t see why any of us, myself or any of us Texans, should risk our lives to vote," she said. Also recently discovered, you are at more risk driving to the polling place than dying from the virus. [Texas A.G.] Paxton says that only people who have an illness or physical disability that prevents them from going to the polls fall under the disability clause. Fear of contracting the virus, he argues, does not clear that threshold. The Texas plaintiffs say one reason for their lawsuit is that state officials have not issued guidance to local elections administrators. Without a uniform policy, they said, a hodgepodge of rules could spring up across the state, potentially benefiting voters in one county over another. Benefiting? You mean by saving them from the hazard of driving to the polling place?  If no action is taken, the plaintiffs said, Texas could see a repeat of the Wisconsin primary elections in April when voters stood in long lines and didn't follow social distancing guidelines.Stupid is as stupid does. I thought Texans were smarted than Badgers. Either way, Shellie plans to vote in July. She's already requested a mail ballot but will go ‐ grudgingly ‐ to a polling location if the courts opt not to allow expanded mail voting. She said nothing will stop her from casting her ballot. "Native Texans, we're a different breed of people. … If I have to risk my life to do that, I will," she said. "I don't want to and I feel I shouldn't have to, but I will." It's a primary. If there's a line, keep your distance! You're a 'different breed' than those Wisconsin people! Related: Vote by mail: 2020-05-20 Michigan Voters to Receive Vote-by-Mail Application for Upcoming Elections Vote by mail: 2020-05-14 Republican Garcia Has Early Lead in CA25 House Election Vote by mail: 2020-04-27 28 Million Mail-In Ballots Went Missing in Last Four Elections Posted by: Bobby 2020-05-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=572573 |