Plaintiffs fold hand in Texas state court lawsuit seeking expansion of voting by mail during corona-

[TexasTowelie]

Plaintiffs fold hand in Texas state court lawsuit seeking expansion of voting by mail during coronavirus

by Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune


The fight over expanding voting by mail in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic appears to be coming to an end in state courts, but a lawsuit continues at the federal level.

Following a Texas Supreme Court ruling that closed the door to expanded mail-in voting, the individual voters, state Democrats and civic organizations that sued to expand voting by mail based on a lack of immunity to the new coronavirus asked a state appeals court on Tuesday evening to dismiss their case.

The case was part of a flurry of litigation in state and federal courts challenging the state’s rules for who qualifies for a ballot they can fill out at home and mail in, that for now has left the status quo in place: Mail-in ballots are available only if voters are 65 or older, cite a disability or illness, will be out of the county during the election period, or are confined in jail. The Texas election code defines disability as a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents a voter from appearing in person without the likelihood of “injuring the voter’s health.”

The group of plaintiffs had previously convinced state District Judge Tim Sulak of Travis County that susceptibility to the coronavirus counts as a disability under state election law and is a legally valid reason for voters to request mail-in ballots. A panel of the 14th Court of Appeals of Texas let that ruling stand, rebuffing Attorney General Ken Paxton's effort to have the ruling put on hold while he appealed it. The Texas Supreme Court then put it on hold.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/10/texas-lawsuit-over-mail-voting-during-coronavirus-dismissal-sought/