Important Details on Vote by Mail in Texas
- Disability is the voter’s determination if they cannot travel to polls. You do not need a doctor’s determination or governmental letter of disability.
- The Texas Supreme Court ruled in May 2020 that "fear" of getting COVID-19 will not be accepted as a reason to vote by mail.
- Pages 23-24 of the Texas Supreme Court decision read as follows: "The State has conceded that “Respondents (County Election Officials) have no discretion to do anything but determine whether the voter is entitled to vote by mail and process the application accordingly.
- The State acknowledges that the Election Code does not require election clerks to “investigate each applicant’s disability.”
- The Legislature rejected the requirement of a physician’s proof of disability for mail-in voting applications when it amended the Election Code in 1981.
- The application form provided by the Texas Secretary of State requires only that voters check a box indicating whether the reason for seeking a ballot by mail is a disability. The voter is not instructed to declare the nature of the underlying disability.
- The Texas Supreme Court concluded, "The elected officials have placed in the hands of the voter the determination of whether in-person voting will cause a likelihood of injury due to a physical condition."
- "Moreover, while the State has alleged that the Clerks are accepting “improper application[s],” there is no evidence in the record that any has accepted a faulty application.