Very timely, even if it took forever to get here.
A federal judge ruled on Saturday that part of a Texas law that enacted new voting restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution by being too vague and restricting free speech.
The ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, immediately halted the state’s ability to investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, such as the investigation into the League of United Latin American Citizens by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Before today’s ruling, a person who knowingly provided or offered vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation was committing a third-degree felony. This meant that organizers of voter outreach organizations and even volunteers could spend up to ten years in prison and fined up to $10,000 for giving or offering these services.
According to Republican lawmakers, the provision was put in place to prevent voter fraud and secure election integrity. However, in the ruling, the judge noted that there was widespread confusion about how to implement the canvassing restriction from local election administrators. This confusion also left voter outreach organizations uncertain about whether they could provide volunteers with food or bus fare because it could look like compensation.
Many organizations – including La Union del Pueblo Entero, LULAC, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – have filed lawsuits against many other provisions of the law, including voter assistance and mail-in ballot restrictions. The challenges to these provisions have not been ruled on yet. The original complaints were filed in August and September 2021.
Before the law, organizations like OCA-Greater Houston, an advocacy organization for people of Asian and Pacific Island descent, would host in-person election events and allow attendees to bring their mail-in ballots in order to receive help like language assistance.
Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, wrote that “Today’s ruling means that voter outreach organizers and other advocates in Texas can speak to mail ballot voters about issues on the ballot and urge voters to support improvements to their communities.”
See here for some background. I had originally thought that this was a more recent action taken in response to Ken Paxton’s voter purge rampage, but no, this was an older lawsuit that had dropped off the radar because it’s been three years. Still, the timing is felicitous, though there’s always the danger of the Fifth Circuit putting a stay on the ruling. I’m just going to celebrate the win for now and worry about the rest later. There’s a copy of the ruling in the story, and Texas Public Radio has more.
Judge X-Rod is a Republican, a former SCOTX Justice, and a Budh appointee. He’s also a throwback to the nonpartisan federal judges who followed the rule of law. There are still judges like him on the federal bench, but their type is an endangered because of politicians like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. One of the best reasons, among many, to vote against Cruz and Trump.