Court Gives Texas Green Light To Enforce Voter ID Law: ‘Mail-In Ballots Are Not Secure’

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday delivered a major win for election integrity advocates, unanimously upholding a Texas law requiring voters to include a state ID or partial Social Security number on mail-in ballots. The ruling dealt a significant blow to the Biden administration and liberal activist groups that had sought to block the measure.

The voter ID provision, part of the Election Integrity and Protection Act signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in 2021, had been challenged by the Justice Department and groups like the League of Women Voters. They argued the requirement violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allegedly disenfranchising voters.

But the 5th Circuit disagreed.

In a sharp opinion, Judge James Ho dismantled the lower court’s decision to strike down the law, making clear that verifying a voter’s identity is a “material” part of determining eligibility — exactly what the Civil Rights Act permits.

“Mail-in ballots are not secure,” Ho wrote. “The ID number requirement is obviously designed to confirm that each mail-in ballot voter is precisely who he claims he is. And that is plainly ‘material’ to determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote.”

Ho noted how easy it would be to commit mail-in fraud under the Biden DOJ’s preferred system, which only requires a voter’s name and registration address — information freely available through public records.

“Any person can request and receive that information about a registered voter, use that information to apply for a mail-in ballot, and then cast the ballot, with minimal risk of detection,” he warned.

While liberal groups argued there was insufficient proof that requiring ID numbers would reduce fraud, Ho pointed to prior rulings granting states wide discretion to safeguard their elections.

“Our precedents compel us to side with Texas,” he wrote. “We have made clear that States have a legitimate interest in combating voter fraud, and they enjoy considerable discretion in deciding what is an adequate level of effectiveness to serve their important interests in voter integrity.”

Monday’s decision reverses a 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, an Obama appointee, who sided with the plaintiffs and blocked enforcement of the ID requirement. That ruling had been temporarily stayed in December — and is now fully overturned.

The victory comes as Republican-led states continue to tighten election laws in response to public concern over mail-in voting vulnerabilities, particularly after widespread irregularities were reported in the 2020 election.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defended the law in court, praised the decision, saying the court “once again affirmed that Texas has every right to protect its elections and ensure only legal votes are counted.”

Governor Abbott echoed that sentiment, calling the ruling “a win for secure, honest, and fair elections.”