Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced plans to challenge a federal district court ruling that invalidated a significant part of Senate Bill 1, an election integrity law enacted in 2021. The court found that the provision in question was unconstitutional.
Senate Bill 1 was designed to increase protections against ballot harvesting and ensure fair elections. However, the judge determined that parts of the law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, the ruling prohibits the Attorney General's Office from investigating election fraud under the enjoined portion of the election code.
"I will immediately move to block this unacceptable ruling so Texas can continue to defend its elections from bad actors seeking to undermine the ballot box," said Attorney General Paxton. "A ruling—weeks prior to an election—preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process."