<p>A federal judge in Texas scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday on whether Houston officials unlawfully allowed drive-through voting and should toss 100,000 votes in the Democratic-leaning area.</p>.<p>In a brief order, US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston on Friday agreed to hear arguments by a Republican state legislator and others that votes already cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area should be rejected.</p>.<p>The lawsuit was brought on Wednesday by plaintiffs including Steve Hotze, a conservative activist, and Steve Toth, a Republican Party lawmaker in Texas.</p>.<p>They accused Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, a Democrat, of exceeding his constitutional authority by allowed drive-through voting as an alternative to walk-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>Harris County, with about 4.7 million people, is the third most populous county in the United States. It currently has 10 drive-through polling sites, which are available to all voters.</p>.<p>The lawsuit came after the Texas Supreme Court, one of the most conservative state courts in the United States, rejected similar bids to halt drive-through voting in Harris County.</p>.<p>The plaintiffs ask Hanen to "reject any votes it finds were cast in violation of the Texas Election Code" and "requir all memory cards from the 10 drive-thru voting locations be secured and not entered or downloaded into the Tally machine until this Court issues an order on this Complaint."</p>.<p>Hanen was appointed to the federal judiciary by then-President George W. Bush.</p>.<p>The request is "wholly unreasonable," Democratic groups, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said on Friday in a motion asking to intervene in the case.</p>.<p>"Plaintiffs ask this Court to throw Texas’s election into chaos by invalidating the votes of more than 100,000 eligible Texas voters who cast their ballots at drive-thru voting locations at the invitation of county officials and in reliance on the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to allow drive-thru voting to proceed," the groups said. </p>
<p>A federal judge in Texas scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday on whether Houston officials unlawfully allowed drive-through voting and should toss 100,000 votes in the Democratic-leaning area.</p>.<p>In a brief order, US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Houston on Friday agreed to hear arguments by a Republican state legislator and others that votes already cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area should be rejected.</p>.<p>The lawsuit was brought on Wednesday by plaintiffs including Steve Hotze, a conservative activist, and Steve Toth, a Republican Party lawmaker in Texas.</p>.<p>They accused Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, a Democrat, of exceeding his constitutional authority by allowed drive-through voting as an alternative to walk-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>Harris County, with about 4.7 million people, is the third most populous county in the United States. It currently has 10 drive-through polling sites, which are available to all voters.</p>.<p>The lawsuit came after the Texas Supreme Court, one of the most conservative state courts in the United States, rejected similar bids to halt drive-through voting in Harris County.</p>.<p>The plaintiffs ask Hanen to "reject any votes it finds were cast in violation of the Texas Election Code" and "requir all memory cards from the 10 drive-thru voting locations be secured and not entered or downloaded into the Tally machine until this Court issues an order on this Complaint."</p>.<p>Hanen was appointed to the federal judiciary by then-President George W. Bush.</p>.<p>The request is "wholly unreasonable," Democratic groups, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said on Friday in a motion asking to intervene in the case.</p>.<p>"Plaintiffs ask this Court to throw Texas’s election into chaos by invalidating the votes of more than 100,000 eligible Texas voters who cast their ballots at drive-thru voting locations at the invitation of county officials and in reliance on the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to allow drive-thru voting to proceed," the groups said. </p>