Lt. Gov. Patrick says it’s ‘a scam’ to let Texans under 65 vote by mail amid coronavirus
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday on Fox News that allowing people under the age of 65 to vote by mail amid the novel coronavirus’ outbreak is “a scam by the Democrats to steal the election” that will lead to widespread voter fraud.
Patrick told Fox News anchor Ed Henry that it’s “laughable” to allow Texans under 65 who fear contracting the novel coronavirus to qualify for a mail-in ballot, and said they have a higher chance of being in a car crash than dying from COVID-19.
“You have more chance of being in a serious auto accident if you’re under 65 on the way to vote than you do from catching the virus and dying from it by voting. This is the greatest scam ever,” Patrick said.
Patrick’s comments come amid a slew of legal challenges in both state and federal courts that have sought to loosen Texas’ vote-by-mail laws and restrictions amid the pandemic. Civil-rights groups and voters suing the state have raised concerns over Texans flocking to potentially crowded polling places to cast their ballots amid the outbreak.
In a statement Friday, Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, pushed back on Patrick’s comments.
“If Dan Patrick says it, it’s almost certainly wrong. Only in Patrick’s la la world is voting a scam and grandparents should die for the economy,” Rahman said, in reference to previous comments Patrick has made. “Voting by mail is safe, secure, and accessible. Dan Patrick sees the boogeyman in bathrooms, voting booths, and under his bed.”
In order to qualify to vote by mail under Texas law, voters must submit an application and be 65 or older, disabled, out of the county on Election Day and during in-person early voting, or be confined in jail.
Patrick repeatedly noted in his interview Friday that the elderly are the most at-risk of dying from COVID-19, and that because Texas law allows for those 65 years and older to qualify for a mail-in ballot, “we’re protecting that population.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. have been in adults 65 years and older. In Texas, out of the 490 completed fatality investigations, 345, or about 70.4%, have been Texans 65 years or older, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services figures from Friday.
“There is no reason — capital ‘N,’ capitol ‘O’ — no reason that anyone under 65 should be able to say, ‘I’m afraid to go vote,’’’ Patrick said. “Have they been to a grocery store? Have they been to Walmart? Have they been to Lowe’s? Have they been to Home Depot? Have they been anywhere? Have they been afraid to go out of their house?”
The highest rates of COVID-19 deaths have been among the elderly, but Texans under 65 years old are not immune from contracting and spreading the virus. Public health experts have urged people of all ages to stay home, and of the 14,502 completed COVID-19 case investigations received by the state by Friday, 12,025, or nearly 83% have been in Texans under the age of 65.
Whether Texans, regardless of their age, may qualify for a mail-in ballot has been a point that has ping-ponged back and forth in the courts.
In its federal lawsuit against the state, the Texas Democratic Party argued that current election conditions are unconstitutional and violate the 26th Amendment by discriminating against voters who are under 65.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sided with the Texas Democratic Party and granted a preliminary injunction that allows Texans who seek “to vote by mail in order to avoid transmission of COVID-19” to apply for a mail-in ballot.
But Biery’s ruling was put on pause Wednesday after a panel of judges from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with Attorney General Ken Paxton and granted an administrative stay of Biery’s ruling. The stay is temporary while the 5th Circuit weighs whether the ruling should be blocked as the state’s appeal is considered.
Attorneys for the state have argued that expanding vote-by-mail amid the pandemic will lead to an increase in voter fraud, a point Patrick echoed on Friday.
“We’re going to have millions of ballots out across this country go out to people who no longer live there or who have died,” Patrick said. “And it opens up the door for fraudulent voting one at a time, or many at a time.”
In his ruling, Biery said that in previous cases, the evidence had shown “there is no widespread voter fraud” and noted that his order would not prevent the Texas Secretary of State or local election officials from prosecuting cases of voter fraud “where evidence and probable cause exist.”
Biery also wrote that it was found that people in Wisconsin contracted the virus at the polls, and that “medical professionals in even the most carefully monitored medical environments have fallen ill and died from virus infections.”
