Appeals court ruling expands vote-by-mail in Texas during coronavirus pandemic
A state appeals court on Thursday upheld a temporary expansion of mail-in voting that would make it available to any Texan who fears contracting the new coronavirus at the polls. It was another win for the Texas Democratic party and civil rights groups that have filed at least four different lawsuits to loosen restrictions on voting by mail.
But it’s not over yet as the case appears to be headed to the Texas Supreme Court.
“Eligible voters can vote by mail during this pandemic,” said Chad Dunn, an attorney for the Texas Democratic Party. “It is time for a few state officers to stop trying to force people to expose themselves to COVID-19 in order to vote.”
The first win for the Democrats came last month, when a Travis County state district judge issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting the ruling, arguing fear of COVID-19 isn’t an excuse to vote by mail under Texas law, which restricts mail-in ballots to those with a “disability” and those 65 and older.
But the Fourteenth Court of Appeals on Thursday, in a 2-1 vote, said that order will remain in place while Paxton appeals it, meaning counties can continue to OK vote-by-mail applications until the legal matter is settled. Republican Judge Kem Frost dissented; Margaret “Meg” Poissant and Jerry Zimmerer are Democrats who unseated Republican judges in 2018.
“We look forward to the Texas Supreme Court resolving this issue,” Paxton spokesman Alejandro Garcia said in a statement Thursday.
Paxton on Wednesday had asked the high court to stop counties from allowing voters worried about contracting COVID-19 to receive mail-in ballots.
As the cases have continued to wind their way through the courts, some counties have already begun making plans to expand mail-in voting, even before it’s been settled in court. Harris County, for example, last month budgeted $12 million to the cause, anticipating an increase in requests for vote-by-mail.
Texas is one of the few states that still require voters younger than 65 to have an excuse to cast a ballot by mail. Fewer than 7 percent of Texas voters mailed in ballots in 2018.
State law allows voters to claim “disability” and apply for an absentee ballot if showing up at a polling place risks “injuring the voter’s health.” Paxton says a mere fear of contracting the disease is not enough under the law.
The issue has emerged as a major political fight amid the coronavirus outbreak. Democrats and voting rights advocates have pushed for states to expand voting by mail, arguing that forcing people to show up to polling places during the largest public health crisis in a century is tantamount to vote suppression.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have pushed back, however, arguing mail-in ballots are less secure than those cast in person and warning of voter fraud, despite little evidence of such instances.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Appeals-court-ruling-expands-vote-by-mail-in-15270438.php