Federal lawsuit challenges provisions of Texas’ vote-by-mail laws amid coronavirus
A coalition of civil rights groups and Texas voters are suing the state over vote-by-mail requirements that they argue will disenfranchise voters even amid expanded eligibility due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In a federal lawsuit filed Monday in San Antonio against Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, the groups argue that the poor, elderly and other vulnerable populations have historically relied on in-person voting — which they anticipate will still be unsafe to do by November.
As a result, the groups — which include Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, Voto Latino and the Texas State Conference of the NAACP — are challenging four provisions of Texas Election Code in an effort to ensure vulnerable populations’ right to vote-by-mail will not be restricted.
The four provisions being challenged include:
- The requirement that voters pay for postage to return their early voting ballots by mail, arguing that it “imposes a monetary cost on voters whose only option to vote safely is to cast a vote by mail.”
- The deadline that mail-in ballots be postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day and received by the county by 5 p.m. the following day. The lawsuit argues that due to the unprecedented circumstances, the deadline should be extended.
- The requirement that election officials verify that the mail-in voter’s signature on their ballot match the signature on their application, arguing that election workers are often untrained and that elderly or disabled Texans’ signatures are likely to change due to changes in physical ability.
- Texas’ limits on who can assist a voter in mailing in their mail-in ballots.
The lawsuit seeks for the four provisions to be declared unconstitutional and prevent them from being enforced.
Alejandro Garcia, the deputy director of communications for the attorney general’s office, said in a statement Monday that his office will, “continue to uphold the law and protect the integrity of the election process.” The Secretary of State’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
“The parameters of who exactly will be eligible to do so are still uncertain, but mere eligibility to vote by mail will not protect Texans’ against their right to do so being unconstitutionally burdened or, in many cases, effectively denied, by the Challenged Provisions,” the lawsuit reads.
Monday’s lawsuit is the latest in a slew of legal challenges to Texas’ vote-by-mail requirements as the pandemic has disrupted the typical elections process.
In order to qualify to vote by mail under state law, Texans must submit an application and be either 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county on Election Day and during early voting, or be eligible to vote but confined in jail.
In a lawsuit brought by the Texas Democratic Party, a state district judge issued a temporary injunction last month that allows eligible voters who are fearful of contracting COVID-19 by voting in-person to cast their ballots by mail.
But despite the judge’s order, Attorney General Ken Paxton argued earlier this month that his appeal of the ruling stayed the order and warned county judges and election officials in a letter that they could be subject to criminal sanctions if they advise voters who normally aren’t eligible to apply for mail-in ballots due to a fear of contracting COVID-19.
Paxton has repeatedly argued that while a person ill with COVID-19 would qualify for a mail-in ballot, a fear of contracting the virus would not meet the state’s eligibility requirements.
Abbott has also resisted Democrats’ calls for expanding access to vote-by-mail, and in March postponed the May 26 primary runoff elections to July 14 over concerns with Texans flocking to the polls amid the coronavirus’ spread. On Monday, he issued a proclamation moving the start of the early voting period up by a week — from July 6 to June 29.
According to the proclamation, extending the early voting period was necessary to ensure “election officials can implement appropriate social distancing and safe hygiene practices.”
Complaint against Paxton
Two Dallas voters filed complaints Monday with Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, arguing that Paxton misrepresented Texas’ election law and the judge’s ruling in his letter to local officials, and that as a result Creuzot should initiate an investigation into 254 counts of felony elections fraud — one for each Texas county.
“Attorney General Ken Paxton’s letter intentionally misled Texas elections officials about eligibility to vote by mail. When he intentionally lied to 254 election officials by saying that the COVID-19 pandemic does not permit eligibility for ballot by mail, he committed 254 counts of federal elections fraud,” Kendall Scudder, one of the complainants, said in a statement Monday.
Marc Rylander, the director of communications for Paxton’s office, said in a statement in response that his office, “will continue to safeguard the integrity of Texas elections by providing clear guidance to election officials and the public about the textually correct meaning of Texas election law.”
“This complaint is an outrageous effort by those who would mislead the public about Texas voting law in order to advance their own political agenda,” Rylander said.
Scudder, a small business owner in Dallas who ran for state Senate in 2018, and Woot Lervisit, a Dallas attorney, argue that under chapter 273.001 of the Texas Election Code Creuzot is required to launch a criminal investigation after receiving complaints from at least two registered voters.
A spokeswoman for Creuzot’s office wrote in an email Monday morning that his office had no comment as it had no record of any complaint being filed at the time.
Scudder said the complaints had been filed via fax, email, and mail because the office is not accepting in-person paperwork.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 3:44 PM.
