Federal Appeals Court Upholds Texas Voter ID Law

A federal appeals court has upheld a state law requiring voters using mail-in ballots to include a state ID number or partial Social Security number.

According to Fox News, a three-judge panel reversed a district court’s decision, saying unanimously that the law did not violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as some critics claimed, because it is material to confirm voter eligibility, as required under the statute.

Judge James Ho began the unanimous opinion with a blunt statement, “Mail-in ballots are not secure,” citing Veasey v. Perry.

The case, known as Veasey v. Abbott on appeal, involved Texas’ voter ID law and included findings confirmed by the Fifth Circuit that “mail-in ballot fraud is a significant threat.” 

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“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 wrote in the opinion.

Ho and the other judges on the panel aligned with their colleagues on the Third Circuit, which held that “the materiality provision applies only to voter qualification determination.” He said the Third Circuit’s analysis was “persuasive.” 

Ho notes that while the plaintiffs argue that “there isn’t enough evidence to show the ID number requirement would meaningfully reduce voter fraud,” the state disagrees on the matter. 

“Our precedents compel us to side with Texas. We have made clear that states have a legitimate interest in combating voter fraud, and thus enjoy ‘considerable discretion in deciding what is an adequate level of effectiveness to serve [their] important interests in voter integrity,’” Ho wrote in the opinion.

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