There is nothing more reliable in this world than the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has put a temporary hold on a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of a rule that keeps local election officials from encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots, according to Harris County officials.
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez last week halted enforcement of a provision of Senate Bill 1 that made it a crime for election officials to solicit mail-in ballots. The judge said the law likely violates the First Amendment.
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Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee on Thursday expressed disappointment in the decision by the 5th Circuit, which has blocked a number of court challenges to conservative policies.
“I am disappointed that the Fifth Circuit has undone the preliminary injunction that protected Administrator (Isabel) Longoria’s First Amendment rights,” Menefee said in a written statement. “As the district court already determined, this law is unconstitutional and prevents election officials from encouraging people to vote by mail, including our seniors, our neighbors with disabilities, and our active-duty service members. One thing that’s clear from the high number of mail-in ballot applications being rejected is that our election officials should be empowered to explain the process and encourage folks to apply to vote by mail if eligible. Today’s decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over election officials trying to help voters.”
See here and here for the background. This court is a sham and a disgrace, and the only way forward is to pack it with judges that will actually apply the law. Don’t ask me when that is likely to happen.
Because I have nothing better to say, here are a couple of tweets from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee:
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One thing that’s clear from the high % of mail ballot app rejections we’ve seen is officials should be empowered to explain the process and encourage folks to vote by mail.Today’s decision allows the threat of criminal prosecution to loom over officials trying to help voters.
— Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 4:44 PM – 17 February 2022
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NEW – I, along with @LinaHidalgoTX and @LongoriaTx, requested that the DOJ do everything in its power to ensure that despite the impacts of SB1 and the high percentage of mail ballot rejections, every eligible voter has their vote counted in our elections in Harris County.— Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM – 17 February 2022
Good luck with that. I wish I felt more optimistic, but it’s not like the Fifth Circuit will care.