The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has handed Texas another victory in the long-running legal battle over Senate Bill 1, the state’s 2021 election integrity legislation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed a lower court decision that had invalidated nine provisions of the law on the grounds that they conflicted with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Judge Andrew S. Oldham authored the opinion, which was joined by Judges Patrick E. Higginbotham and Jerry E. Smith.
The court noted that the latest ruling is only one of several occasions in which the Fifth Circuit has intervened in litigation challenging Senate Bill 1. The consolidated lawsuits have repeatedly produced injunctions from U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez that were later stayed, vacated, or reversed on appeal.
Oldham described the repeated appellate intervention as an “exhausting game of Whac-A-Mole,” writing that the Fifth Circuit has repeatedly been required to correct the district court’s handling of challenges to the law.
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, who authored Senate Bill 1, praised the ruling and pointed to the political and legal fights that have surrounded the legislation since its passage.
“I carried the Election Integrity bill (SB 1) that made Democratic legislators flee Texas to try to block the bill,” Hughes wrote. “When fleeing didn’t work, they resorted to lawsuits to block it.”
Senate Bill 1 was approved by the Texas Legislature in 2021 following a contentious legislative fight that included Democratic lawmakers leaving the state in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the House from reaching a quorum. The law implemented a series of new requirements governing voting by mail, voter assistance, and ballot collection.
Among the provisions challenged in the latest case were requirements that mail-ballot voters provide either a driver’s license number or a portion of their Social Security number corresponding with information in state records. Plaintiffs also challenged requirements imposed on individuals who assist voters. Under the law, assistants must provide information about their relationship to the voter, disclose whether they are being compensated by a candidate or political committee, and swear that they did not pressure or coerce the voter.
The Fifth Circuit concluded that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue most of their challenges. The court separately rejected, on the merits, an effort to prevent local prosecutors from enforcing provisions governing compensation for voter assistance.
The litigation was brought by several organizations that have repeatedly challenged portions of Senate Bill 1 in federal court.
The decision marks the latest setback for legal challenges seeking to block portions of Senate Bill 1 and leaves the disputed provisions of the 2021 election law intact.