A state ban on paid vote harvesting will remain in effect for the November 2024 General Election after a federal appellate court blocked a lower court judge’s ruling.
District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez issued an order last month enjoining enforcement of Texas’ law criminalizing paid vote harvesting—a business that often crosses into illegal influence and fraud.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately appealed the order to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and secured a temporary stay of Rodriguez’ order on October 4.
On Wednesday, the Fifth Circuit granted a full stay pending appeal.
The appellate court ruling blocks the district judge’s injunction and allows the Office of the Attorney General to continue conducting investigations into paid vote harvesting while the litigation proceeds.
Circuit Judge James Ho stated in the ruling, “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.”
“We fought hard to ensure that the Texas laws protecting the ballot box will be in full force and effect this election season,” stated Paxton. “I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the integrity of our political process.”
Lawmakers passed the ban on paid vote harvesting in 2021 as part of a comprehensive election integrity measure known as Senate Bill 1. The law established three third-degree felonies for participating in a paid vote harvesting scheme.
Judge Rodriguez had determined that section of the law was overly vague and created an unconstitutional restriction on the free speech of advocacy groups that conduct voter canvassing activities.
In 2023, Rodriguez blocked another provision of SB 1, ruling that Texas election officials cannot reject mail-in ballots with wrong or missing identification numbers.
Last week, Rodriguez blocked more provisions of SB 1 enacted to deter unsolicited voter assistance.
