Appeals court sides with Harris County in lawsuit over mailing absentee ballot applications
An intermediate state appeals court sided with Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins on Friday in his quest to mail applications for absentee ballots in the November election to every registered voter in the county. But the ruling will not take effect before the Texas Supreme Court hears the case.
A three judge-panel of the state’s 14th Court of Appeals agreed with a state district judge who rejected the Texas attorney general’s request for a temporary injunction blocking the mailing plan. The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court directed the county to hold off on sending any unsolicited applications earlier this week while the case is on appeal, and the high court is the next stop for the politically fraught lawsuit.
Friday’s ruling marks a second loss for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in convincing state courts that the mailing is legally dubious and would cause confusion among voters.
In an 11-page ruling, three Democratic justices — Charles Spain, Meagan Hassan and Margaret Poissant — rejected the state’s argument that the injunction was necessary to keep the county from “walking” voters into committing felonies by sending applications to voters who may ultimately not be eligible for mail-in ballots. That claim, the panel ruled, was “based on mere conjecture,” with the state offering no proof to support it.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/18/texas-harris-county-mail-in-ballot-applications/
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