Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday asked the state’s Supreme Court to step in and stop county election officials from letting voters afraid of catching coronavirus to vote by mail.
Paxton, a Republican, filed a petition for Dallas, Cameron, El Paso, Harris and Travis counties. He argued that election officials are “misapplying” the state’s “disability” requirement for absentee mail-in voting amid the pandemic.
“Each misapplication of Texas election law damages the integrity of our elections and increases the risk of voter fraud. In-person voting is the surest way to prevent voter fraud and guarantee that every voter is who they claim to be and has a fair opportunity to cast their vote,” Paxon said in a press release.
Texas’ election code defines “disability” as “a sickness or physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter’s health.” Voters who meet this definition and wish to vote by mail must submit applications.
Last month, Texas District Judge Tim Sulak issued a temporary injunction that eased this definition to include all registered voters who fear for their health in casting ballots in person for the state’s upcoming elections. Paxton, who has argued that fear of contracting Covid-19 does not amount to a sickness or physical condition as required by state law, is already appealing that decision.
The next election date in Texas is July 14 for a primary runoff election. The last day to apply for a mail-in ballot is July 2.
“It is unfortunate that certain county election officials have refused to perform their duties and have instead unlawfully gone beyond the Legislature’s determination of who is eligible to vote by mail, Paxton said. “My office will continue to defend the integrity of Texas’s election laws.”
The Texas Democratic Party, the original plaintiffs in the case to expand absentee voting in the state, denounced Paxton’s move.
“After a month of thousands of mail in ballot requests sent by Texans who are under the age of 65, Paxton now wants to upset the election process,” Chad Dunn, the party’s general counsel, said in a statement. “Apparently, none of the counties agree with Ken Paxton’s view that everybody under age 65 has to vote in person during a pandemic and the court shouldn’t either. The Legislature provided for vote-by-mail in these pandemic circumstances.”
Dunn added: “Whether the state courts or the federal courts resolve the matter, a citizen’s right to vote will be protected.”