Austin, TX (WBAP/KLIF) – After a state district judge signaled Wednesday that he may side with Democrats on the issue of mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, Attorney General Ken Paxton has chimed in.
Paxton issued a letter in response to Representative Stephanie Klick’s request for guidance on whether, under the Texas Election Code, Texans may claim disability based on fears of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) and receive a ballot to vote by mail in upcoming elections.
Texas has one of the strictest vote-by-mail programs in the country. Only people over 65, people who are in jail and not convicted, people who will be out of the county, and people who are sick or disabled can get a mail-in ballot.
Rep. Klick’s letter states that disability, as that term is used in the Texas Election Code’s provisions allowing voting by mail, must involve a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents a voter from voting in-person. A voter ill with COVID-19 and who is unlikely to be able to appear in-person to vote without assistance or without injuring their health may apply for a ballot by mail; however, fear of contracting COVID-19 does not qualify a person for disability.
In response, Paxton said:
“Mail ballots based on disability are specifically reserved for those who are physically ill and cannot vote in-person as a result. Fear of contracting COVID-19 does not amount to a sickness or physical condition as required by the Legislature. The integrity of our democratic election process must be maintained, and law established by our Legislature must be followed consistently.”
State District Judge Tim Sulak said that he would ‘clarify’ that mail-in voting will be allowed for the upcoming special election in July, and the November presidential election.
Paxton, via his spokesperson Mark Rylander, calls it an “unlawful expansion” of Texas’ mail in voting laws.
Earlier this week, President Trump tweeted in all caps about voter fraud, likely sparked by the loss of Wisconsin Republican state Supreme Court judge Daniel Kelly.
‘GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING, IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD. THE USA MUST HAVE VOTER I.D., THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN HONEST COUNT!’ Trump tweeted.
GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING, IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD. THE USA MUST HAVE VOTER I.D., THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN HONEST COUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2020
The document scandal involving ballot harvesting in the U.S., came at the hands of the Republican Party in 2018, in a Congressional race for North Carolina’s 9th District.
Republican Mark Harris was accused of being assisted by a GOP operative named McCrae Dowless, who led a ballot harvesting effort targeting elderly black voters in rural areas. Dowless was indicted in early 2019 on multiple charges of illegal ballot handling.
The election results were ultimately thrown out by the state’s election board and a new election to fill the seat took place.
(Copyright 2020 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News)