The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated anti-ballot harvesting laws and granted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the ability to continue investigating alleged vote harvesting through the upcoming November elections.
On Tuesday, the appellate court upheld sections of Texas voting law, Senate Bill 1, which includes permission for Paxton's office to pursue vote harvesting investigations.
This decision is a reversal of an earlier district court ruling by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who had blocked the anti-vote harvesting laws and investigations, claiming they might amount to a restriction on free speech.
"On the eve of elections in Texas, the district court has entered an injunction that impacts how ballots can be handled. It holds unconstitutional a law that has been on the books for over three years, but that the court did not see fit to enjoin until now," the higher court admonished.
"The Supreme Court has instructed lower courts not to unduly delay ordering changes to election law until the eve of an election We accordingly grant the State's request for a stay of the injunction pending appeal."We fought hard to ensure that the Texas laws protecting the ballot box will be in full force and effect this election season," AG Paxton said of the decision, calling it a "major win" for election integrity.
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