Texas Democrats ask U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on expansion of vote-by-mail access
The Texas Democratic Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to allow all voters to qualify for mail-in ballots amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The party asked that the court immediately lift a stay issued by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The stay blocked U.S. District Judge Fred Biery’s order that would have allowed eligible Texas voters, regardless of age, to qualify for a mail-in ballot to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus.
Earlier this month, a panel of judges on the federal appeals court based out of New Orleans granted Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to extend a stay of Biery’s order while the state’s appeal is considered.
Additionally, the Texas Democratic Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case in the fall on the merits of the claim that Texas’ vote-by-mail restrictions violate provisions of the 26th Amendment. If the 5th Circuit Court’s stay is upheld, the party asked the court to take up the case on an expedited basis.
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 confined in jail.
In its application, the party argued that if the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stay isn’t lifted, voters will be forced to either risk contracting COVID-19 by casting their ballot in person in the upcoming elections or “relinquish their right to vote at all.”
“There are no ‘do overs’ for applicants and other Texas voters who are unable to participate in these two momentous elections, nor can there be any redress, monetary or otherwise, for the loss of that opportunity,” the application read.
It was expected the case would reach the U.S. Supreme Court after back-and-forth rulings led to multiple starts and stops on mail-in ballot expansion amid the pandemic. Civil rights groups and voters suing the state have raised concerns over Texans risking their health by visiting polling places while the virus spreads. They have filed a slew of legal challenges in both state and federal courts seeking to loosen Texas’ vote-by-mail laws and restrictions.
“Texas Republicans are hell-bent on discriminating against and blocking Texas’ new diverse majority from casting their ballot,” Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement. “We have not — and never will — stand by as Republicans discriminate against hard-working Texans trying to cast their ballot.”
Alejandro Garcia, the deputy director of communications for Paxton’s office, said in a statement that the Attorney General’s Office “will continue to defend the integrity of our electoral process.”
“The Fifth Circuit’s powerful and well-reasoned opinion correctly found that the State likely would prevail on its argument that Texas’s mail-in voting laws comply with the U.S. Constitution,” Garcia said. “This is clearly a ploy by the Texas Democratic Party to further confuse Texas voters.”
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. Biery had sided with the Texas Democratic Party and granted a preliminary injunction to allow Texans who seek “to vote by mail in order to avoid transmission of COVID-19” to apply for a mail-in ballot.
However, siding with Paxton, the 5th Circuit Court’s stay of Biery’s ruling stopped the expansion of mail-in ballots weeks before the start of early voting on June 29 for the July 14 runoff elections.
Chad Dunn, the Texas Democratic Party’s general counsel, said that the court could take up the request to lift the stay ahead of the July runoff elections — but it remains to be seen how soon that may happen.
“But there’s no question that it can hear the case on the merits between now and an ample time for November for people to request mail ballots,” Dunn said during a press conference Tuesday.
Paxton has 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. And he has warned local officials that they could be subject to criminal sanctions if they advise voters who normally aren’t eligible to apply for mail-in ballots.
Attorneys for the state have also argued that allowing an expansion of mail-in ballot eligibility amid the pandemic would lead to an increase in voter fraud.
In late May, the Texas Supreme Court sided with Paxton and ruled that a lack of immunity to the novel coronavirus does not make a voter eligible for a mail-in ballot under Texas law. However, it declined to order local election officials to investigate mail-in ballot applications they have received.
In Tarrant County, some residents who have worked the polls in prior elections said the virus made it too risky to work on Election Day in July.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
