Federal Court To Examine Texas Decision To Save Drive-Through Votes

The New York Times: Texas Court Denies G.O.P. Push To Throw Out Votes 
The Texas Supreme Court denied an effort by Republicans to throw out more than 120,000 votes that had already been cast at drive-through locations in Harris County, leaving Republicans’ only remaining option at the federal level. The ruling from the court came without comment. The effort to get rid of the votes from largely Democratic Harris County now hinges on a nearly identical effort at the federal level, where a judge has called an election-eve hearing for Monday. (11/1)

Reuters: U.S. Judge Orders USPS To Reinforce 'Extraordinary Measures' Ballot Delivery Policy 
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) must remind senior managers they must follow its “extraordinary measures” policy and use its Express Mail Network to expedite ballots ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, under an order signed by a U.S. judge. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan’s order on Sunday, to which the USPS agreed, said the postal service must reinforce its “special procedures” to ensure it “delivers every ballot possible by the cutoff time on Election Day.” USPS will also reinforce to managers that “all ballots with a local destination must be cleared and processed on the same day or no later than the next morning for delivery to local offices, from now through at least November 7.” (Shepardson, 11/1)

In news about voter safety at the polls —

The Washington Post: Peaceful March To The Polls In North Carolina Is Met With Police Pepper Spray And Arrests, Causing Outcry On Eve Of Election
The voters came in black sweatshirts emblazoned with the mantra of the late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who celebrated "good trouble." Fists and iPhones raised, they chanted “Black lives matter” and promised “power to the people,” as they made their way from a Black church to the base of a monument to a Confederate soldier. In its shadow, they paused for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, honoring George Floyd, the Black man killed by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for what was later determined to be 7 minutes and 46 seconds. The participants in Saturday’s “I Am Change” march had intended to conclude at an early-voting site to emphasize turnout in the final days of the presidential campaign. Those plans were thrown into disarray when law-enforcement officers in riot gear and gas masks insisted demonstrators move off the street and clear county property, despite a permit authorizing their presence. (Yeoman and Stanley-Becker, 11/1)

AP: Pre-Election Virus Spike Creates Concerns For Polling Places
A surge in coronavirus cases across the country, including in key presidential battleground states, is creating mounting health and logistical concerns for voters, poll workers and political parties ahead of Election Day. In Iowa, where both presidential campaigns are competing feverishly, county officials said they were preparing for scores of confirmed or potentially infected people to vote curbside. It’s an option typically used by disabled people that must be available outside every polling place. (Foley, 11/1)

The Washington Post: Polling Places Are Unable To Avoid The Politics Of Mask-Wearing
When Elizabeth Cooper walked into her neighborhood community center in central Houston to cast her ballot, she was impressed. Each poll worker sat at an individual table, spaced far apart and shielded by plexiglass. One handed Cooper a wipe and a finger covering. Most important, she said of her experience, “everyone had a mask on.” Not so in the West Texas town of Big Spring on the day Rebecca Paige Evers voted at the county courthouse. She said she and her husband were the only ones masked. “Honestly, it just did not feel like a safe environment to vote,” Evers said. (Satija, Brown, Kranish and Reinhard, 11/1)

The New York Times: In Texas, The Polls Open For A Graveyard Shift 
Felix Sylvester drove straight to the polling site after work and cast his ballot in a matter of minutes. There was no line, perhaps because it was a few minutes past 3 a.m. The parking lot was lit up in the predawn darkness by towering light poles. Most of Houston was asleep — most, but not all. Mr. Sylvester, 65, voted early Friday at one of eight polling places across Harris County that, five days before the election, stayed open all night. For him, it was about more than convenience; it was probably the difference between voting and not voting. (Fernandez and Kalifa, 11/1)

Also —

KHN: Hospitalized? You Can Still Vote In Most Parts Of The Country
Johnathon Talamantes, of South-Central Los Angeles, broke his hip in a car accident on Oct. 22 and underwent surgery five days later at a public hospital near downtown. His post-op recovery will keep him in the hospital, L.A. County+USC Medical Center, beyond Election Day, and as he prepared himself for the surgery, he wondered what that would mean. (Wolfson, 11/2)