The absurdity on Texas ballot boxes

 This was not voter suppression, Abbot had already extended and expanded voting rules. He went through this sudden restriction because Trump made it a campaign issue,Abbot was being a party hack. This was Abbot making senseless campaign issues because trump made the issue.

No one looked at in the real context of the law, the Texas law was all about keeping mail in ballots under some secure transport. Hence the definition of common carrier was missed by every one,k all three sides. County election officials are qualified common carriers of ballots, no matter how the law is read. They are the common carrier of in person ballot boxes. 

The common carrier rule in Texas voting law is there to offer a variety of mailed in vote methods, all of which are meant to eliminate bulk dropping off of ballot. Like a security chain, keep the unique link to the absentee voter.  Al that means is a verifiable return address and secure chain in collections, and ballot officials are automatically qualified. But no one in Texas noticed this, they all wanted to make it campaign issue. looking up he various new article, no one actually quoted the reference in the law itself. As long as county election officials are acting in a qualified ballot collection process,then they are common carriers and can manage their collection points. And this is Due Process, election officials must collect ballots in a ways that congestion is evenly spread. Due Process makes them common carriers. So obvious once you get out of the two party model.

Trump made the original error, demanding voting changes at the last minute. Predeclaring certain voting methods illegitimate too soon to the election.   In the Pennsylvania case the correct rule was to accept but mark mismatched signatures for later evaluation. In the other case, a judge cannot unilaterally over rule legislated election rules.  As common ballot carriers election officials should be prepared with late arriving mail ballots as long as they have post marks.

Gov Abbot should have picked a more benign issue for the campaign, like oil.  He could have made made oil tariffs an issue, called for import tariffs.   Every one should have looked at the central controlling reference in Texas law.

In California the rule is any authorized party can take votes to the clerk. The repubs started collection boxes and Newsom let it go, who cares.