Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas issued a ruling today (Thursday, May 14) upholding state District Judge Tim Sulak’s April ruling that susceptibility to the coronavirus counts is a disability under state election law and, therefore, a legally valid reason for voters to request absentee ballots. The court was split, 2-1 along party lines, on the ruling.

The appellate court rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s insistence that Sulak’s ruling goes against the Texas Constitution. Paxton, who has been fighting Sulak’s ruling and had claimed that it could not go into effect because he had appealed it, on Wednesday, May 13, had tried to sidestep ongoing cases over the issue by going directly to the Texas Supreme Court, asking that court to weigh in on the question.

Ed Espinoza, executive director of the statewide media organization Progress Texas, issued a written statement after the ruling was announced, saying, “This ruling goes directly against indicted-Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent actions and will hopefully put an end to his threats against Texans who wish to vote by mail.

“A majority of Texas voters support mail-in ballot expansion, and many have already requested their ballots,” Espinoza continued. “No Texan should be forced to put their safety and health on the line in order to vote. Instead of spending time and resources fighting vote by mail expansion, the state should turn its efforts to increasing health and safety measures for all of us.”

A Paxton spokesperson, when asked for comment by The Texas Tribune, said the AG’s office “looks forward to the Texas Supreme Court resolving this issue.”

— Tammye Nash