Texas Supreme Court: Lack of immunity to COVID-19 not enough to vote by mail

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AUSTIN — The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that lack of immunity to COVID-19 is not a physical disability that qualifies people to vote by mail.

The ruling is a major victory for Attorney General Ken Paxton who had argued that only a physical illness or disability that prevented voters from going to the polls should qualify people to vote by mail. It is a loss for the Texas Democratic Party and voting rights groups who had pushed for expanded mail voting during the coronavirus pandemic and had won temporary victories in lower courts.

The Supreme Court did not grant a request from Paxton to order county elections administrators to follow the state’s election law on mail ballots. The justices said they were confident elections officials would follow the law.

The question of expanded mail voting is also being fought in federal courts, where an appeals court is considering whether to stay an order by a district judge that allowed those who lack immunity to COVID-19 to vote by mail.