OAN Staff Addie Davis
7:21 AM – Thursday, August 13, 2026
The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a judge’s decision on a 2021 Texas law featuring provisions on mail-in ballot requirements.
In the Wednesday ruling, the court found that the federal district judge’s injunction, which was based on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, on nine of the provisions of the bill was unfounded.
“The bulk of the plaintiff’s claims fail for lack of standing. One fails on the merits. But none justifies interference with the State Legislature’s efforts to prevent voter fraud and to protect election integrity,” the court opinion read.
Among the requirements of the Election Integrity Protection Act of 2021 were stricter rules regarding voting by mail, according to the bill summary. This included the necessity of providing an ID number in the form of “either a driver’s license number, the number of a DPS-issued personal identification card, the last four digits of the applicable social security number, or a statement that the voter or applicant has not been issued any of those numbers.”
Also, regarding people assisting voters when allowed by law, the act requires the individual to provide their relationship to the voter, sign an oath that they did not coerce or intimidate them, and to disclose if they received compensation from a candidate, campaign or political committee, per the court document
The Texas Tribune noted that the plaintiffs suing viewed the provisions as overly restrictive and burdensome for voters that have disabilities, with the district judge agreeing and handing down the injunction.
The appeals court highlighted the current normalcy of judges becoming involved in legislative affairs.
“As so often happens in modern America, a federal district judge then countermanded the Legislature with sweeping facial injunctions,” the court wrote.
The judicial body also called attention to the issues associated with mail-in ballots.
“It has long been established that mail-in ballots are prone to fraud,” the opinion read. “That is why voting by mail jeopardizes election integrity and democracy itself.”
Contending with the argument that certain voters–such as older adults, those with disabilities, and voters newly eligible to cast their ballot by mail–were more likely to be confused by the requirements and thus have their ballots rejected, the appeals court pointed to numbers gathered since the laws implementation.
Since the bill became law, the court noted that the number of mail-in applications or mail-in ballots that have been rejected due to missing or incorrect ID numbers had dropped off significantly from at least 11% down to 2.7% in eight months. According to the court, state officials also predicted that the number would continue to fall.
Quoting a 2022 study, The Texas Tribune noted that in the primary of that same year, one in seven voters had their applications or ballots rejected after the implementation of the law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is also running for Senate, voiced his approbation for the ruling in a Wednesday social media post.
“BREAKING VICTORY: I just secured a major win upholding election integrity and preventing voter fraud. My office will continue to defend Texas’s critical laws safeguarding our elections,” Paxton said.
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