A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can enforce a state law requiring voters to include either a state identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on mail-in ballots, or risk having them rejected.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the provision, which was enacted in 2021 as part of Texas’ election integrity law, SB1. The court determined the requirement does not violate federal law that prohibits states from imposing voting conditions deemed “not material” to determining a voter’s eligibility.
In a blunt nine-page opinion, Judge James Ho stated twice that the appeals panel had “little difficulty” determining that Texas’ law is legally and constitutionally sound.
“The number-matching requirements are obviously designed to confirm that every mail-in voter is who he claims he is,” Ho wrote for the panel. “And that is plainly material to determining whether an individual is qualified to vote.”
The judges ruled that simply requiring voters to provide their name and address on applications was not enough to adequately address election security concerns.
“That information is easily available to anyone who simply requests it,” wrote Ho, a Trump appointee. “As a result, any person can request and receive that information about a registered voter, use that information to apply for a mail-in ballot, and then cast the ballot, with minimal risk of detection.”
The decision marks the latest in a series of rulings from the conservative-leaning 5th Circuit permitting stricter voter eligibility and ballot requirements. In a separate case, another panel from the court recently upheld a rule requiring that mail-in ballots be received by Election Day to be counted.
