Appeals Court Allows Texas to Continue Investigations Into Vote Harvesting

The decision reinstates a state law provision that made certain types of paid ballot harvesting a third-degree felony.

A poll worker stamps a voter's mail-in ballot in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2020. Sergio Flores/Getty Images

A federal appeals court has granted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to block a district court ruling that declared part of an election reform bill unconstitutional, allowing the state to continue investigating alleged cases of illegal vote harvesting.

In a decision on Oct. 15, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of the district court’s Sept. 28 ruling, which had halted enforcement of certain sections of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). According to state officials, the 2021 state law was designed to combat voter fraud and bolster election integrity.