AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- One effort to dramatically expand the availability of voting by mail due to the coronavirus was blocked Wednesday, following a unanimous ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.
The ruling comes in a case involving the Texas Democratic Party and five counties, who had sought to increase the availability of mail-in ballots in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We agree with the State that a voter’s lack of immunity to COVID-19, without more, is not a 'disability' as defined by the Election Code," the court wrote.
According to Texas law, voters can qualify for a mail-in ballot only if they are 65 or older, have a disability or illness, are confined in jail, or will be out of the county during the election period.
However, the court said, voters are not required to disclose their disability when applying for a mail-in ballot. The ruling stopped short of siding completely with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had sought to require election clerks to investigate whether or not an applicant's disability claim was valid.
"The voter is not instructed to declare the nature of the underlying disability. The elected officials have placed in the hands of the voter the determination of whether in-person voting will cause a likelihood of injury due to a physical condition," the ruling states, further adding that election clerks "do not have a ministerial duty [to] look beyond the application to vote by mail."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling. "I applaud the Texas Supreme Court for ruling that certain election officials' definition of 'disability' does not trump that of the Legislature, which has determined that widespread mail-in balloting carries unacceptable risks of corruption and fraud," Paxton said in a statement. "Election officials have a duty to reject mail-in ballot applications from voters who are not entitled to vote by mail. In-person voting is the surest way to maintain the integrity of our elections, prevent voter fraud and guarantee that every voter is who they claim to be."
A separate case in federal court, along with actions in other states, will likely see the issue headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. That federal case is currently being considered by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which issued an administrative stay blocking any expansion of mail-in voting while the court considers its next steps.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa reacted to the state ruling, while looking forward to the still active federal case. "Leave it to the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court to put out 45 pages of opinion and give no guidance to voters about who can vote by mail during a pandemic - even after one of the Supreme Court justices under the age of 65 contracted coronavirus last week. This is reflective of Texas Republican leadership that long ago failed to serve Texans’ needs and interests. Now, it is up to the federal court to ensure basic constitutional rights still exist in Texas and ensure that Texans have a right to vote safely and not put their health at-risk."