Day 3: Polygons

Subject: Voter Suppression in Houston

Method: Drive Time Analysis

Tools: ArcGIS Pro

Harris County, Texas, which includes most of the City of Houston, is home to over 4.7 million residents and is the most populous county in the state. Houston alone is also among the biggest cities in the United States, ranking fourth in terms of overall population.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has not expanded mail-in-voting and has fought and won in federal court to limit voting options. Currently, the Texas Secretary of State holds that to be eligible to vote by mail, a voter must be either: 65 years of age or older, sick or disabled, out of their county of residence on election day, or confined to jail but otherwise eligible to vote.

In October 2020, an executive order issued by Governor Greg Abbott that further limited voting options by limiting the number of official mail in ballot drop off locations to one site per county, a move that critics argue is designed to suppress voter turnout in the state’s populous and democratic leaning cities. Abbott cited non-existent voter fraud as the reason for the move. This order effectively does limits voting options for the state’s elderly, sick, and disabled citizens by adding a distance barrier to casting their ballot in the middle of a pandemic. These populations are also at heighted risk of complications from COVID-19. With valid concerns about USPS delays leading several states to request that their citizens not vote by mail in the final week leading up to the 2020 election, this leaves little option for those who want to vote by mail other than to drop off their ballots or vote in person.

While Harris County officials opened NRG park, a centrally located stadium facility, to serve as the county’s only official ballot drop off location, this map highlights how limiting the number of ballot drop off locations for places like the Houston Metro Area adds barriers to voters seeking to cast their mail in ballots early, showing drivetimes to the drop off site from different parts within Harris County. Some residents are forced to drive over an hour to drop off mail in ballots. One major limitation in this map is that it does not account for those who rely on public transit for mobility.