Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a significant legal victory, allowing a crucial provision of Senate Bill 1, Texas's election integrity law, to remain in effect for the upcoming November 5, 2024 elections. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a stay on the matter.
Senate Bill 1 was designed to enhance safeguards against ballot harvesting and introduce additional measures to bolster election integrity. However, a federal district court recently ruled that these provisions violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and prohibited the Office of the Attorney General from initiating investigations into potential violations.
In response, Attorney General Paxton appealed the decision and initially obtained a temporary stay from the Fifth Circuit on October 4. This has now been extended to a full stay pending appeal, which overturns the district judge’s injunction and allows investigations into illegal vote harvesting to proceed.
The Fifth Circuit stated: “On the eve of elections in Texas, the district court has entered an injunction that impacts how ballots can be handled. It holds unconstitutional a law that has been on the books for over three years, but that the court did not see fit to enjoin until now. The Supreme Court has instructed lower courts not to unduly delay ordering changes to election law until the eve of an election.… We accordingly grant the State’s request for a stay of the injunction pending appeal.”
Attorney General Paxton expressed his commitment by stating: “We fought hard to ensure that the Texas laws protecting the ballot box will be in full force and effect this election season. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the integrity of our political process.”