Federal judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 early ballots in Texas
02 November 2020
A federal judge on Monday rejected a Republican request to invalidate 127,000 ballots that had already been cast via drive-through voting stations across Harris County, Texas, ruling that the plaintiffs lack standing.
Why it matters: Harris County, which includes the city of Houston, is the most populous county in Texas and voted for Hillary Clinton by just over 160,000 ballots in 2016, according to Bloomberg.
- The ruling comes one day after the Texas Supreme Court denied a nearly identical effort by Republicans in Harris County.
- Texas, which hasn't backed a Democrat for president since 1976, has been rated a toss up by the Cook Political Report. Joe Biden securing the state's 38 electoral votes would virtually guarantee his path to the White House.
The big picture: Dozens of lawsuits related to voting rights continue to be litigated all over the country, as Republicans sue to block efforts to expand voting access — such as extending mail-in ballot deadlines — that have been instituted during the pandemic.
“Count Every Vote” protest outside the federal courthouse in downtown #Houston. Major court hearing today on fate of 127-thousand drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County. pic.twitter.com/BHtfAnpZem
— ed lavandera (@edlavaCNN) November 2, 2020
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.