AUSTIN, Texas _ A federal appeals court has once again put on hold an expansion of mail voting during the coronavirus in Texas.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans came just one day after a federal judge in San Antonio ordered on Tuesday that all Texas voters who feared contracting the coronavirus could apply to vote by mail.
The temporary hold on that order is a victory for Attorney General Ken Paxton who said U.S. District Judge Biery had ignored evidence and disregarded well-established laws in his decision to expand mail voting on Tuesday.
But it could prove to be a temporary win. The appeals court's action is an administrative stay that is in place while the court considers whether to block Biery's ruling while it hears Paxton's appeal.
The Texas Democratic Party and the voting rights groups which filed the suit to expand mail voting have until Thursday at 3 p.m. to present their argument to the court on why Biery's order should remain in place while the appeals court hears the case.
Still, Paxton celebrated the appeal court's temporary stay of Biery's order.
"I applaud the Fifth Circuit for issuing this temporary stay while the case proceeds. Protecting the integrity of elections is one of my top priorities, and allowing universal mail-in ballots would only lead to greater fraud and disenfranchise lawful voters," Paxton said in a statement. "Law established by the Legislature must be followed consistently, including carefully limiting who may and may not vote by mail."
