Andrew Hanen

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Two days before a decision was rendered in this case, Slate Magazine had described him as "one of the most notoriously partisan conservatives in the federal judiciary." [18]

On November 2, 2020, Hanen heard a suit against officeholder Chris Hollins, the Harris County Clerk, filed by Texas state representative Steve Toth and a group of Texas Republican candidates who sought to invalidate about 127,000 drive-thru votes in Harris County, Texas. [19] Toth said Harris County exceeded its state constitutional authority by allowing drive-thru voting as an alternative to walk-in voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, a change Toth argued could be determined solely by the Texas Legislature. Democrats countered that his request would disenfranchise all voters who had previously cast drive-thru votes in good faith. [20] [21]

Hanen dismissed the Republicans' lawsuit, stating they needed to prove the existence of an "evil motive" to have the ballots thrown out and he said they failed to do so. [22] [23] [24] Hanen also ruled that the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit lacked standing and that drive-through voting could proceed on election day, but because the statute allowed for casting votes in "buildings," and he ruled that tent voting could not be included. [25] Hanen's judgment retained the validity of the early drive-up votes that had been cast prior to his decision. It did not dismiss the possibility of whether those drive-thru sites comported with the state's election law. It did not preclude votes cast subsequent to his decision from being challenged, saying, "I would not vote in a drive-thru out of my concern whether that's legal or not." He ordered Harris County to retain and segregate records of any drive-thru ballots cast on Election Day because of the possibility of future legal challenges. Hollins chose to close nine of Harris County's 10 drive-thru voting sites on Election Day. He said, "I cannot in good faith encourage voters to cast their votes in tents if that puts their votes at risk." [25]

Hanen's decision was appealed by the Republican plaintiffs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, but their appeal was rejected. [19] [22]

Republican activist Steve Hotze and three Republican candidates sued the Clerk, Hollins, seeking to halt drive-through voting after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the manner of voting could proceed. Richard Mithoff, a Harris County attorney said, "We're very grateful that we saved 127,000 votes from both parties," standing with Hollins and other Texas Democrats outside the federal courthouse in downtown Houston. Hollins said the county's staff of 11,000 election workers were ready to count the early drive-through votes. Republicans requested that the courts stop the county from tabulating the votes until after the resolution of their claims. [25]

Before the decision, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins said that drive-through voting would continue on election day at 10 sites, in addition to in-person voting at more than 800 polling places. More than a million registered voters in the county still had not cast ballots, he said, adding that Republicans had filed almost a dozen lawsuits to constrict the intended expanded ability to exercise the franchise. "They will have the same access to the polls that their neighbors have had," Hollins said. "We're proud to be upholding democracy at a time when it is under attack." He said the case was just the latest in nearly a dozen lawsuits brought by Texas Republicans to block expanded voter access. [25]

In October, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had limited every county to a single drop site for mailed votes, forcing Harris County to close 11 additional sites and voters to drive several hours to drop off their ballots. Republicans also successfully sued to block Harris County from mailing ballots to all those eligible unless they requested them.

Hollins had previously said that drive-through voting would continue on election day at 10 sites, in addition to in-person voting at more than 800 polling places. More than 1 million registered voters in the county had yet to vote. [19] After Hanen's decision, he kept the Toyota Center arena site open, since it comported with existing law. Regarding election day voting, as a result of the court rejecting the claim, "They will have the same access to the polls that their neighbors have had." "…We're proud to be upholding democracy at a time when it is under attack." [25] He noted the case was the latest in nearly a dozen lawsuits brought by Texas Republicans to block expanded voter access. In November, Republican Governor Greg Abbott limited every county to a single drop site for mailed votes. [19] That forced the county to have to close eleven other sites and caused some voters to need to drive many hours to drop their ballots off. Republicans also had successfully sued to stop Harris County from mailing ballots to every eligible voter in lieu of requests for such ballots. [19] Hanen's decision was appealed by Republicans to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. At stake in the legal contest over drive-through voting sites were almost 9% of all the votes cast in the third-most populous county in the U.S. The effort by Hollins that re-opened drive-through voting sites this year was intended to address safety issues resulting from the pandemic. Republicans who sued argued drive-through voting was offered illegally and strategically in areas with Democratic majorities. [19] Curbside voting in Harris County previously had been limited to disabled voters, and drive-through voting in 2020 was unrestricted. [19] Retiree Peter Nasser, had been protesting outside the courthouse "to protect my vote," saying Republicans were "scared to death of losing Texas." On October 13, Houston Attorney David Hobbs and his wife had voted in the drive-through and had joined the suit as plaintiffs. "Votes should be protected. That's what a democracy is," Hobbs said. [19]

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References

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Andrew Hanen
Judge Andrew S. Hanen.jpg
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Assumed office
May 10, 2002
Legal offices
Preceded byJudge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
2002–present
Incumbent