The Supreme Court of Texas dealt a severe blow to plans by Democrat Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins to send mail-ballot applications to all 2.37 million registered voters in the county.

On Tuesday afternoon, the state’s highest civil court issued a stay against the county in response to legal action filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Acting on behalf of the state, Paxton was challenging the county’s unsolicited mailing of ballot applications.

Opponents to Harris County’s scheme argue that sending applications to all registered voters could cause voters to provide false information on the form, confuse them about their ability to vote by mail, and impede the ability of those who are able to vote by mail by clogging up the infrastructure with applications from those who do not qualify.

“I strongly commend the Texas Supreme Court for stopping the Harris County Clerk from sending millions of mail-in ballot applications, which would create voter confusion and jeopardize the integrity and security of our elections,” said Attorney General Paxton.

Texas election law currently allows for absentee ballot-by-mail for voters who are age 65 or older, disabled, out of the county during the voting period, or incarcerated but otherwise eligible to vote.

“The Harris County clerk knowingly chose to violate Texas election law and undermine election security. I thank the court for preventing the clerk from proceeding with his unlawful plans while this case continues,” added Paxton.

Though the court has not yet finally ruled on the case, with the election just weeks away, the stay effectively puts an end to the plan.

Brandon Waltens

Brandon serves as the Senior Editor for Texas Scorecard. After managing successful campaigns for top conservative legislators and serving as a Chief of Staff in the Texas Capitol, Brandon moved outside the dome in order to shine a spotlight on conservative victories and establishment corruption in Austin. @bwaltens

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