Overview:

On May 19, 2020, the district court determined that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas voters would be able to apply, receive, and cast an absentee ballot in the two upcoming elections. Currently, Texas has strict limitations when it comes to obtaining an absentee ballot. Texas’s restriction of no-excuse vote-by-mail applied to those voters who are 65 years old or older. Consequently, this led voters to have to choose between their health and safety during this global pandemic by voting in person or not voting at all. This would disproportionately affect the Latino population and young voters. If the Fifth Circuit is not vacated, it would lead to millions of Texas voters, who would be eligible to obtain a no-excuse vote-by-mail ballot if the application is granted, to not vote or risk their health in voting. The harm that it would cause voters if the stay is not vacated, would be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Therefore, applicants are requesting that the Court vacate the Fifth Circuit panel’s June 4, 2020, stay and reinstate the District Court’s preliminary injunction for the upcoming 2020 primary and general elections.