Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday said that election officials in Texas who offer mail ballots to people who normally wouldn’t qualify but are afraid of catching the coronavirus could be subjected to criminal punishment.
Paxton’s guidance to county election officials comes two weeks after a state judge in Travis County ruled that Texas voters who fear catching the coronavirus could vote by mail.
In his letter to county officials Friday, Paxton, a Republican, said he had appealed that decision by State District Judge Tim Sulak, a Democrat, and therefore the order was stayed and has no effect.
Several local officials, including the county judge and clerk in Harris County, have told voters that Sulak’s decision qualifies them to vote by mail under the disability clause in the state’s election code. Paxton said such claims were “misleading."
“Mail ballots based on disability are specifically reserved for those who are legitimately ill and cannot vote in-person without assistance or jeopardizing their health," he said in a statement. "The integrity of our democratic election process must be maintained, and law established by our Legislature must be followed consistently. My office will continue to defend the integrity of Texas’ election laws.”
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