Federal appeals court restores Texas mail ballot ID requirements in major election integrity ruling

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored key parts of Texas’ election law Wednesday, handing the state a major win after repeatedly reversing the lower court during a five-year legal fight.

The 11-page ruling overturned a lower court decision that blocked nine parts of Senate Bill 1, a 2021 law that changed Texas’ rules for mail-in voting and voter assistance.

The appeals court pointed to its repeated reversals in the case, noting that it has "reversed the district court on everything" during roughly five years of litigation.

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"The bulk of the plaintiffs’ claims fail for lack of standing. One fails on the merits. But none justifies interference with the State Legislature’s efforts to prevent voter fraud and to protect election integrity," Judge Andrew Oldham wrote in the opinion.

The restored rules include requirements for Texans voting by mail to provide an identification number or Social Security number on ballot applications and for that information to match state records. The law also lays out a process for voters to fix defective ballots and requires voters and people helping them fill out ballots to sign an oath stating they did not coerce the voter.

A district judge blocked the rules in March 2025 after several lawsuits challenging the law over accessibility concerns were combined. The plaintiffs argued the requirements made voting too difficult for some voters with disabilities and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Texas allows several groups to vote by mail, including voters who are 65 or older and those who qualify because of a disability.

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The appeals court found the groups did not have legal standing to bring most of their challenges and rejected another challenge outright.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a defendant in the lawsuit, celebrated the ruling on social media, calling it a "major victory."

Fox News Digital reached out to attorneys and organizations representing the plaintiffs for comment.

Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 in 2021 after a contentious fight over election rules. The law targeted in part voting initiatives Harris County used during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Democratic lawmakers, civil rights organizations and voting advocacy groups opposed the measure, and Texas House Democrats broke quorum in an unsuccessful attempt to stop it.

The appeals court also noted that the share of mail-in ballot applications or ballots rejected because of identification-number errors fell from 11% to 2.7% after the law took effect.