WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley released the following statement after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Texas's ID number requirement for mail-in ballots:
“This ruling is a clear victory for secure elections and for all Texas voters,” said Chairman Whatley. “Texas’s commonsense safeguards for mail-in ballots are essential to protecting the integrity of every single ballot cast. As long as Democrats and the left are fighting to overthrow the will of the American people who support these safeguards, the RNC will be there to meet them in court."
Background:
- The RNC secured a victory in a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of U.S. v. Paxton, which upheld a key provision of Texas’s 2021 omnibus election integrity law, SB1.
- SB1 requires voters to include their voter registration ID number on both their mail-in ballot application and their return envelope, allowing election officials to confirm the voter’s identity.
- The RNC has been fighting to defend SB1 since 2021, when it intervened in this case alongside the Harris County Republican Party, the Dallas County Republican Party, the NRCC, and the NRSC.
- The Court found that SB1’s number-matching rule complies with federal law because it is designed to verify voter identity, rejecting arguments that it disqualifies eligible voters.
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