The court blocked a ruling that had briefly struck down Abbott's order, which was widely decried by voting rights groups as a voter-suppression tactic.
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Ronald BrownsteinIn both federal & state court, GOP Justices appear all in on the party's voter suppression strategy: The Texas Supreme Court upholds Abbott order limiting counties to just one drop box for mail ballots.
89d
Two of Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler's staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus. She said she is negative and plans to participate in Monday's vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
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Ronald BrownsteinMaybe ignoring the reality of the virus as a statement of cultural values & obeisance to Trump has a consequence? Staffers for Kelly Loeffler test positive for COVID-19
89d
An ex-business partner of Hunter Biden said he consulted his father about a planned venture with a Chinese oil company. Joe Biden denied any involvement in the venture and corporate records reviewed by The Journal show no role for him.
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Ronald Brownstein"Text messages and emails related to the venture that were provided to the Journal by Mr. Bobulinski, mainly the spring and summer of 2017, don’t show either Hunter Biden or James Biden discussing a role for Joe Biden in the venture." wsj.com/articles/hunte… via @WSJ
91d
A 4-to-4 tie let stand a ruling from Pennsylvania’s highest court that had extended the deadline for counting some mailed ballots by three days, citing the pandemic and postal delays.
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Ronald Brownstein4 GOP #SCOTUS Justices just signaled they will take any step necessary to try to reelect Trump. Mitt Romney & Ben Sasse, who each call Trump a threat to US, are about to confirm a 5th Justice likely to provide them a majority for that goal.
94d
Texas does not have to give voters a chance to correct mail-in ballots that were rejected for signature problems, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.The
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Ronald BrownsteinIs there any limit to how far TX Rs will go to restrict access to the ballot-or how far the 5th Circuit will go in enabling them? It ruled, "TX does not have to give voters a chance to correct mail-in ballots that were rejected for signature problems"
94d
After several near misses, Democrats can taste victory in Georgia — and Republicans fear President Trump’s lackluster numbers may drag down the party’s Senate candidates with him.
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Ronald Brownstein“The United States Commission on Civil Rights has identified five state-level policies that can serve to suppress votership, and only one state has put into effect every one of them: Georgia.”
95d
The president said he guessed Whitmer was threatened and suggested federal law enforcement should spend more time investigating left-wing groups.
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Ronald BrownsteinAny R’s have anything to say? How about John James? You ok w/Trump whipping up such feral opposition to a Gov who just faced a kidnapping plot? “Trump downplays plot against Whitmer at Michigan rally, crowd chants 'lock her up'” freep.com/story/news/pol… via @freep
95d
The state’s voter rolls have grown by nearly 2 million since the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, but polling locations have been cut by almost 10%, with Metro Atlanta hit particularly hard.
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Ronald BrownsteinWhy Do Nonwhite Georgia Voters Have to Wait in Line for Hours? Their Numbers Have Soared, and Their Polling Places Have Dwindled.
96d
For the third day in a row, more than 100,000 people cast early votes in Harris County. The feat had only been accomplished once before 2020.
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Ronald BrownsteinIn 2016, Harris County (Houston) totaled 985k early votes & mail ballots combined. As of Thurs, it had reached 399k. Conceivable it will cross 1/2 the total early 2016 turnout today-on October 16. County went from +1k for Obama in 12 to +201k for Beto 18.
97d
Ronald Brownstein“So cute,” Mr. Trump responded, in a condescending tone that was unlikely to endear him to the suburban women voters he has been trying to win back.
98d
Ronald BrownsteinLots of glitches elsewhere in the state (and even some there), but strongly positive early reviews on using Atlanta's basketball arena as a voting center suggest the impact this movement by NBA players and owners could have on turnout.
101d
Democrats could have an easier time taking back the chamber if they focus voters’ attention on the Court’s impact on health care.
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Ronald BrownsteinBarrett may present a clear & present danger both to #ACA and #RoevWade. But at #barretthearing Ds are focusing their fire much more on health care. This helps explain why.
101d
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows threw a lavish wedding for his daughter in May, despite state and local restrictions.
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Ronald Brownstein"White House chief of staff Mark Meadows hosted a lavish wedding for his daughter in Atlanta this May, despite a statewide order and city of Atlanta guidelines that banned gatherings of more than 10 people to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus."
105d
Michigan is a preview of how far Republican judges will go to obstruct Democrats in office.
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Ronald BrownsteinThis is a chilling warning: "Republican judges are serious about using their power to obstruct Democrats in office, even when doing so is legally indefensible & blatantly undemocratic—indeed, even when it jeopardizes human life," @nicholas_bagley writes
106d
The Democratic nominee leads 49 percent to 41 percent in Arizona, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since 1996. In the Senate race, Mark Kelly, a Democrat, leads the incumbent, Martha McSally.
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Ronald BrownsteinWow. In a stunning measure of suburban rejection of Trump's GOP, per @jmartNYT Biden is +9 in Maricopa, the largest US county Trump won in 16. No D prez nominee has carried Maricopa since Truman in 1948 & even FDR never came close to +9 there. Historic.
108d
Ronald BrownsteinWith News That the President Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus (and He Was in Contact with Joe Biden at the Debate Earlier in the Week), What Happens If a Presidential Candidate Dies or is Incapacitated Before Election Day? A Mess
112d
The president’s result came after he spent months playing down the severity of the outbreak that has killed more than 207,000 in the United States and hours after insisting that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”
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Ronald Brownstein"the president in recent weeks increasingly held crowded campaign events in defiance of public health guidelines and sometimes state and local governments."
112d