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“I do not find a tent to be building,” said Hanen, noting that tents are being used for the drive-thru locations, while the state law mandates that polling places be in a building.

However, Hanen also said that the Republicans’ lawsuit, which was filed late last week, was not timely, and that it was not clear that the votes cast at the drive-thru sites would be illegal, even if the sites themselves might be.

Harris County, which is the third-largest county in the nation, set up the drive-thru voting locations to give an alternative to voters concerned about visiting completely enclosed polling centers during the coronavirus pandemic.

So far, about 127,000 votes have been cast at those locations, contributing to the record of 1.4 million early votes cast in the entire county so far this election.

Texas law allow curbside voting to people who are sick, disabled, or likely to have their health harmed voting indoor. The plaintiffs in the case had said that “a voter’s general fear or lack of immunity from COVID-19 is not a ‘disability’ as defined by the Election Code.”

Hanen made the ruling after conducting a hearing that was broadcast over Zoom. Hanen was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush.

The case has been of keen interest because of polls showing a very close race in Texas between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee.

Democrats also have made winning several Texas House races in the county a priority as part of a bid to win a majority in the the state House for the first time in two decades.