AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Counties across the state will be limited to just one drop-off location for voters to hand deliver their absentee ballots, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling puts an end to challenges in the state courts of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order limiting the number of drop-off sites. Similar challenges were filed in federal court, where a federal appeals court sided with Abbott, overturning a lower court's decision.
In the opinion, the justices wrote that Abbott's order "provides Texas voters more ways to vote in the November 3 election than does the Election Code. It does not disenfranchise anyone."
Abbott issued an emergency order in July that expanded the early voting period for the November 3 election, as well as extending the timeframe for voters to personally deliver their absentee ballots to county election officials. Outside of Abbott's executive order, state law typically only allows voters to deliver their ballots in person on Election Day.
Harris County aimed to open 12 drop-off sites across the county, while Travis County aimed to open four. Abbott issued a new order on October 1, establishing the limit of one site per county.
Under state law, voters can only drop off their own absentee ballot, and are required to present an approved form of identification when doing so.