Washington, DC – Today, attorneys for Project Vote filed a petition for rehearing en banc in the case of Voting for America (a Project Vote affiliate) v. Steen, requesting that the case be heard by the full roster of active judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This action follows a 2-1 ruling by a panel of three Fifth Circuit judges earlier this month. The case is about Texas state election laws that place significant restrictions on voter registration drives.
“Texas makes it harder than any other state to help eligible citizens register to vote,” says Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote. “It’s no surprise then that Texas also has one of the lowest rates of voter participation in the country.”
In 2012, Project Vote and its affiliate Voting for America filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, arguing that certain provisions of Texas election code unfairly restricted voter registration activities in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to halt the burdensome election rules. Currently, Texas election law is still being enforced because the Fifth Circuit stayed and then just two weeks ago reversed the trial judge’s first, affirmative ruling initially halting five aspects of the Texas election law.
Both appellate rulings resulted in 2-1 panel votes: of the six federal judges to examine Project Vote’s case, three have agreed that Texas election law violates the First Amendment and the National Voter Registration Act.
The plaintiffs now seek to have the full appeals court hear the case and affirm the 2012 preliminary injunction ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Gregg Costa who agreed that these laws improperly restricted voter registration drives, writing in a 96-page ruling that “Texas now imposes more burdensome regulations on those engaging in third-party voter registration than the vast majority of, if not all, other states.” Judge Costa granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the following laws:
- a prohibition on voter registration drives submitting to officials by mail applications they collect;
- a ban on non-Texans becoming volunteer deputy registrars;
- a prohibition that prevents any person from accepting or handling applications from residents of counties other than the county in which the person was appointed as a volunteer deputy registrar; and
- a burdensome compensation law that prohibits organizations from firing employees based on their performance in collecting applications.
The Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the law firms of Ropes & Gray, Brazil & Dunn, and Spivey & Grigg, L.L.P.
“We are continuing the fight for democracy in Texas,” says Attorney Chad Dunn. “Our hope is that the court recognizes the importance of this case and affirms the trial judge’s opinion that these laws infringe voter registration organizations’ rights to help reach Texans and help them to register to vote.”