The Biden administration challenged a Texas law requiring mail-in ballots to include a state ID or partial Social Security number, which would invalidate ballots missing that info.
Signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2021, the law was opposed by the Biden administration and groups like the League of Women Voters. In November 2023, a federal judge struck down the ID requirement, ruling it violated the Civil Rights Act.
In December, the 5th Circuit paused the 2023 injunction, and on Monday, it dismissed the lower court’s ruling. Judge James Ho wrote that mail-in ballots “are not secure” and the ID requirement complies with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, calling it “material” to confirming voter identity and eligibility.
Ho issued the following statement on his decision:
“Merely requiring mail-in ballot applications to list the voter’s name and registration address triggers significant election security concerns. That information is easily available to anyone who simply requests it from Texas election officials — who readily provide copies of voter files with such information on request. As a result, any person can request and receive that information about a registered voter, use that information to apply for a mail-in ballot, and then cast the ballot, with minimal risk of detection.
Plaintiffs insist that there isn’t enough evidence to show that the ID number requirement would meaningfully reduce voter fraud. Texas strongly disagrees. Our precedents compel us to side with Texas. We have made clear that States have a legitimate interest in combating voter fraud, and this enjoy ‘considerable discretion in deciding what is an adequate level of effectiveness to serve (their) important interests in voter integrity.”
