Under Texas law, voters are only eligible to vote by mail if they meet at least one of several criteria:The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a legal challenge to a Texas law requiring voters under the age of 65 to provide justification to vote by mail.
The issue began its slow wind through the U.S. legal system in 2020 after the Texas Democratic Party brought a lawsuit on behalf of three people alleging the Texas mail-in voter law violated the First, Fourteenth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs in the case argued that “public health circumstances” attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic warranted “an expansion of how votes are cast” to prevent the spread of the virus. Attorneys said the court should interpret “disability” to include lack of immunity to a virus and a person’s fear of becoming infected at a polling place. The lawsuit also sought to bar Texas authorities from pursuing criminal prosecutions for individuals seeking or providing mail-in ballots to ineligible people. A district court judge sided with the plaintiffs in May 2020, temporarily blocking the voting restrictions. Texas officials appealed the ruling, which resulted in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals halting the lower court’s ruling, allowing the state’s mail-in voting restrictions to remain in place. After more litigation was brought, the lower court dismissed the legal challenge, writing in a 33-page decision that the plaintiffs lacked “standing to complain of speculative future election policies and pandemic conditions,” along with an array of other reasons for dismissal. In September 2023, the 5th Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal, which led the plaintiffs to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition to the Court argued: “The ability to vote by mail may be particularly important for younger voters. Young people can face substantial barriers to voting in person, including lack of transportation, long lines, inability to find or access their polling place, and limited time off from work.” The Court declined on two separate occasions similar lawsuits brought by the Texas Democratic Party and also rejected a similar bid to challenge Indiana’s mail-in voting restrictions. Currently, seven states have restrictions on who under age 65 may vote by mail: Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas. With the Court declining to hear the case, the Texas mail-in voting restrictions will remain the law of the land.
