Abbott: Drive-thru voting would allow passengers to have a ‘coercive effect’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Sunday said that drive-thru voting would allow passengers riding in vehicles to have a “coercive effect” on voters while defending proposed state laws that would ban the practice.

Abbott was asked by “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace why he would support laws that would make it harder for some to vote, questioning whether or not the motivation was to suppress the votes of people of color.

Abbott initially argued that Harris County, where many voting practices are being challenged by the proposed state legislation, simply did not have the authority to “create its own election system.”

Wallace shot back, asking why Abbott would oppose these measures if they increased voter turnout, as the Texas governor himself has said he is in favor of, noting that no evidence of widespread voter fraud was ever discovered in Harris County.

Abbott then stated that it is hard for counties to ensure proper monitoring of ballots.

“With regard to the drive-thru voting, listen this violates the fundamentals of what — the way that voting integrity has always been achieved and that is the sanctity of the ballot box,” the governor said.

“If you do drive-thru voting, are you going to have people in the car with you?” he asked. “It could be somebody from your employer or somebody else they may have some coercive effect on the way that you would cast your ballot, which is contrary to you going into the ballot box, alone and no one there watching over your shoulder.”

Abbott also said bumper stickers that express political beliefs would violate state laws that bar electioneering at polling places because voters might see them when they’re in the drive-thru.