Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harris County and other counties in Texas have been pushing for more mail-in voting. That effort was dealt a big blow yesterday.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a lack of immunity to COVID-19 does not qualify voters to apply for a mail-in ballot. The primary runoff in Texas is set for July 14th. In a statement, Attorney General Ken Paxton said he applauded the decision, and that fear "does not amount to an actual disability that qualifies a voter to receive a ballot by mail."
The country surpassed a sad milestone yesterday, as the COVID-19 death toll hit the 100-thousand mark. Since February 6th an average of 900 Americans have died every day from the virus.In Texas, there have been 1,581 deaths.
The Texas re-opening is almost a month old. A flareup of cases in the Amarillo area has the mainstream media and the left wondering if Governor Greg Abbott re-opened things too soon. In Amarillo yesterday, Abbott defended his decision.
"While so many people in the state are suffering from the virus, there are so many more people in the state suffering economically," Abbott said. "The one thing about Texans is they are not looking for a handout. They are looking to get back to work."
Elsewhere:
- Fort Bend County's COVID-19 Strike Team hopes to finish nursing home tests by end of month. The team has already tested more than 800 people.
- Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. His office says he has "virtually" no symptoms.
- We told you that the Houston Zoo would open next week with a mandatory online reservation system. That system crashed yesterday after getting 10,000 ticket requests a minute.