LDF Strongly Condemns Texas Appeals Court Ruling Allowing Voter Suppression Law to Go Back into Place

Read a PDF of our statement here.

On Aug. 12, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals restored multiple provisions of SB 1, a Texas law that makes it harder for voters with disabilities to vote by mail and receive assistance to vote. The ruling overturned a lower court's previous decision that blocked provisions, including threats of criminal prosecution for voter assistants and burdensome ID requirements for mail-in voting, that violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Fifth Circuit decision will make it harder for millions of Texans to vote in this November's elections.

Over three million eligible Texas voters have a disability, including 14% of all Black adults in Texas. Black Texans are more likely than white Texans to have a disability.

"The court's decision to reimpose discriminatory barriers to the ballot is profoundly disappointing and a betrayal of millions of Texans," said Victor Genecin, Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. "SB 1 legalizes and, at times, outright requires voter suppression. It deliberately targets voters with disabilities to lower turnout among voters who have traditionally faced discrimination. All voters everywhere deserve equal access to the ballot and this shameful ruling once again hurts millions of eligible Black voters."

"The Fifth Circuit's decision to validate S.B.1's most nonsensical restrictions on voting by mail is a setback for Texans with disabilities, who face needless barriers to exercising the right to vote because of these provisions and the state's do-nothing approach to enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act," said Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project. "The voters proved their case in court, but sadly that did not matter to the Fifth Circuit here. But what was true yesterday remains true today: No eligible voter should have to navigate discriminatory obstacles just to exercise their fundamental right to vote."

"Texas SB 1 does not protect elections - it makes voting harder for millions of eligible Texans, particularly Black voters with disabilities," said Cheryl W. Turner, International President and Chair, Board of Directors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. "Sigma Theta joined this case because no voter should face discrimination, intimidation or criminal penalties simply for seeking assistance to cast a ballot. This ruling is a setback, but it will not weaken our resolve. We will continue fighting until every eligible voter can exercise their fundamental right to vote freely and equally."

"This decision is a huge setback for Texans with disabilities, making it harder for them to vote on issues that impact their daily lives," said Shira Wakschlag, Senior Executive Officer of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel at The Arc of the United States. "Ample evidence was presented in the trial from The Arc's members - voters with disabilities and their assistors - that SB 1 blocked their voices and stripped them of their fundamental right to participate in our democracy. Even when voters with disabilities managed to cast a ballot, they faced significant barriers that violate federal law. The Arc will continue to fight in every legal avenue to ensure that voters with disabilities have equal access to the ballot box, free from unnecessary hardship."

"The Arc of Texas is disappointed by today's Fifth Circuit ruling in our challenge to Texas voting restrictions that create barriers for voters with disabilities," said Sabrina Gonzalez Saucedo, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy at The Arc of Texas. "This decision is a setback for Texans with disabilities and for ensuring they have equal access to the democratic process. We remain proud of the work done by our legal partners and advocates to challenge these barriers and stand alongside Texans with disabilities. We will continue to fight for a Texas where every voter can participate safely, independently, and without discrimination or unnecessary barriers."

"When this case was tried, the Court heard from Texans with disabilities who did not ask for special treatment," saidJ. Michael Showalter, Partner at ArentFox Schiff LLP. "They were asking for the same opportunity as everyone else to participate in the democratic process. Their stories described missed ballots, inaccessible systems, lost privacy, physical hardship, and the difficult choice between voting independently and relying on trusted caregivers. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit's decision turned on procedural issues rather than the testimony heard at trial. We were honored to stand with The Arc of Texas and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to ensure that those voices were heard, and we remain committed to the principle that every eligible voter deserves meaningful access to the ballot."

In 2021, just after SB 1 was passed, the Legal Defense Fund, The Arc, Reed Smith, and, later, ArentFox Schiff, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Houston Area Urban League, The Arc of Texas, and an individual election judge, challenging multiple SB 1 provisions.

In addition to the provisions imposing burdensome identification requirements on voting by mail, the lawsuit also challenged provisions that limited early voting hours, banned 24-hour voting, eliminated drive-thru voting centers, limited multiple drop-off locations for mail ballots, limited the distribution of mail-in ballot applications, and expanded the authority of partisan poll watchers. Other disability rights and civil rights organizations also challenged the law in companion lawsuits.

Learn more about efforts to push back against SB 1's discriminatory restrictions here.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF)is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.