Texas AG Threatens Voting Rights Groups with Felony Charges for Pushing Vote-By-Mail – By Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime) / April 15 2020
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening voters and voting rights groups with felony charges if they request mail-in ballots due to fears of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Fear of contracting Covid-19 unaccompanied by a qualifying sickness or physical condition does not constitute a disability under the Election Code for purposes of receiving a ballot by mail,” Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel Ryan Vassar wrote in an advisory opinion addressed to the Lone Star State legislature on Wednesday.
“To the extent that third parties advise voters to apply for a mail-in ballot based solely on fear of contracting Covid-19, such activity could subject those third parties to criminal sanctions,” the letter dated April 14, 2020, continues. “However, whether specific activity constitutes an offense under these provisions will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each individual case.”
Paxton’s shot across the bow to voting rights groups advocating the use of absentee ballots for voters who fear contracting the deadly virus highlighted two specific prongs of the Texas Election Code as likely potential sources of criminal charges.
The first, § 84.0041, relates to the “Fraudulent Use of Application for Ballot by Mail” and violations of the law are punishable as state jail felonies. The second section highlighted in the controversial legal opinion, § 276.013, the state’s general “Election Fraud” law, is technically a Class A misdemeanor but has several qualifying sections which can easily increase penalties for violations to felony charges.
It’s clear, however, that Paxton’s admonition to would-be absentee voters in Texas and organizations coalescing around the nascent national push for vote-by-mail are being threatened with two separate felony charges because the penalty enhancement in the general election fraud statute also applies to anyone who commits “another offense under [the Election Code] in the same election.”
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