Status on the Vote-by-Mail Court Cases
On May 27, the Texas Supreme Court disagreed with the lower state courts and declared that a voter’s lack of immunity to COVID-19, without more, is not a "disability" that would allow a voter to request a vote-by-mail ballot.The Supreme Court did recognize, however, that individual voters can take into consideration their own health conditions and health history to decide “whether, under the circumstances, to apply to vote by mail because of disability.”
Having interpreted the Election Code in this way, the Supreme Court also denied the State’s request for a writ of mandamus against the cited county officials. A writ of mandamus is a specific court order to government officials to perform their official duties. The State had argued that the cited County officials were illegally misinforming voters on who could vote by mail. The Court stated that “we are confident that the Clerks and all election officials will comply with the law in good faith.”
Other cases addressing the eligibility of who can vote by mail in Texas have also been filed in federal courts. These cases, and perhaps even the state case, may not be final until decided by the US Supreme Court.We will keep you posted!