In a recent move, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has won a temporary stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This decision overturns a previous district court ruling that blocked Texas from enforcing aspects of Senate Bill 1, an election integrity law and halted ongoing investigations into alleged illegal ballot harvesting activities.
With the start of early voting looming and absentee ballots already in the mail, Paxton's office faced a significant hurdle when the lower court issued an injunction against enforcing the ban on paid vote harvesting. He appealed the decision when the district court declined to grant a stay, upon which, the Fifth Circuit has temporarily put a hold on the ruling until October 10. "Blocking our ability to investigate certain election crimes would have been a serious disruption to the electoral landscape with only a month left before Election Day," said Paxton in a statement. He stressed the importance for Texas "to protect its elections from ballot harvesting schemes."
The district court's initial injunction would have put a pause on the Texas Attorney General’s authority to probe into such allegations. But with the temporary stay in effect, Paxton has regained the capability to continue his office's investigations, at least for the moment. The reprieve is slated to remain until the Fifth Circuit reviews the case further next week.
Attorney General Paxton has been adamant about the significance of SB 1 for the integrity of Texas elections. "The Fifth Circuit has now temporarily stayed the ruling that would have blocked my ability to conduct these investigations, and I will continue to use every tool available to secure our elections," Paxton told the press. The legal tussle over SB 1 underscored the heightened national debate on voting rights and election integrity, issues that have sharply divided opinion across the country.
