Thread by @TexasTribune

1/ Mismatching timelines between Texas election law and the realities of the U.S. Postal Service may mislead voters into believing they have a larger window of time to vote by mail than actually exists. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

2/ USPS recommends that Texans ask for mail-in ballots no later than 15 days from Election Day.

But state law allows voters to request the ballots up until a week and a half before.

So some voters may not receive their ballots until it’s too late to mail them back in time.

3/ In Texas' major counties, almost 99% of mail-in ballots were counted during the July primary runoff election. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

4/ As Republicans nationwide foment unsubstantiated concerns about widespread fraud, the low rejection rate during the Texas primary runoffs offers reassurance to those pushing absentee voting as safe and reliable during the coronavirus pandemic. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

5/ But the misalignment will be tested unlike ever before as more Texans try to vote by mail because of the pandemic and a troubled U.S. Postal Service faces cost-cutting measures and ensuing mail delivery delays. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

6/ So, Harris County is purchasing more mail-sorting equipment and hiring hundreds of temporary workers to focus on voting-by-mail applications and ballots.

The county clerk says the size of their operation will be about “seven or eight” times larger than it was in July.

7/ Not all Texas counties can attain that sort of exponential growth. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

8/ In the county of Aransas — population 24,763 — the elections department is typically a two-person office.

There, it took staff eight days to get through mail-in ballot requests during the March primary while still preparing for in-person voting. bit.ly/2CLs5sp

9/9 Read more here. bit.ly/2CLs5sp