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Federal appeals court restores Texas' mail-in ballot ID requirements
The Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling entirely, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing on most of their complaints.
By Kevin Killough
Published: August 13, 2026
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday restored parts of a 2021 Texas election law that reformed the state's regulations regarding mail-in ballots and assisted voting.
The law had faced several lawsuits over accessibility concerns, which were consolidated into a single law, The Texas Tribune reported, and a district judge blocked nine of the law's provisions. These blocked provisions included requiring Texas voters to provide an identification or social security number on mail-in ballot applications, which were required to match state records.
The judge also blocked rules that created processes for curing defective ballots and required voters and those who assist them in filling out their applications to sign an oath swearing they didn't coerce the voter and disclosing how the assistant and voter are related. The lawsuit argued these provisions were burdensome and restrictive for voters with disabilities.
In its ruling Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling entirely, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing on most of their complaints.
In a post on X, Texas Attorney Ken Paxton called the ruling a "major win upholding election integrity and preventing voter fraud."
"My office will continue to defend Texas’s critical laws safeguarding our elections," Paxton said.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy ... cial_icons
The Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling entirely, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing on most of their complaints.
By Kevin Killough
Published: August 13, 2026
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday restored parts of a 2021 Texas election law that reformed the state's regulations regarding mail-in ballots and assisted voting.
The law had faced several lawsuits over accessibility concerns, which were consolidated into a single law, The Texas Tribune reported, and a district judge blocked nine of the law's provisions. These blocked provisions included requiring Texas voters to provide an identification or social security number on mail-in ballot applications, which were required to match state records.
The judge also blocked rules that created processes for curing defective ballots and required voters and those who assist them in filling out their applications to sign an oath swearing they didn't coerce the voter and disclosing how the assistant and voter are related. The lawsuit argued these provisions were burdensome and restrictive for voters with disabilities.
In its ruling Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling entirely, finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing on most of their complaints.
In a post on X, Texas Attorney Ken Paxton called the ruling a "major win upholding election integrity and preventing voter fraud."
"My office will continue to defend Texas’s critical laws safeguarding our elections," Paxton said.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy ... cial_icons