Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a brief with the Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth Judicial District in Houston, defending the Texas Election Code requirements for submitting a mail-in ballot. This brief follows an appeal filed last month, which automatically stayed a Travis County District Court order misconstruing the Election Code to allow anyone to vote by mail using specific protections intended to aid only those with true disabilities. 

“The integrity of our election process must be maintained, and the law established by our Legislature must be followed consistently. Unlawful expansion of mail-in voting, which is a special protection made available to Texans with actual disabilities, will only serve to undermine the security of our elections and to facilitate fraud,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Fear of contracting COVID-19 does not amount to a sickness or physical condition as required by state law. My office will continue to defend Texas’s election laws to ensure that our elections remain free, fair and safe.”  

Read a copy of the brief here.