Texas election workers ask federal court to block rule against soliciting mail ballots
Two Texas election workers asked a federal court Tuesday to block part of Texas’ new voting law, arguing that its prohibition on “solicitation” of mail ballots is unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs — Harris County's top elections official, Isabel Longoria, and Cathy Morgan, a volunteer deputy registrar in two other counties — are seeking an injunction after they initially sued this month, calling the mail ballot solicitation provision "manifestly unconstitutional." They are backed by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, a nonpartisan policy group that has tracked voting restrictions for a decade and previously challenged a voter ID law in Texas.
Republican legislators in the state fought with Democrats through multiple legislative sessions this year before they ultimately passed a sweeping elections bill that included numerous restrictions on the voting process. One provision makes it a crime, punishable by imprisonment and a $10,000 fine, for election officials to “solicit” mail ballots.
The law, known as S.B. 1, says election officials can convey “general information” about absentee voting to voters, but Longoria and Morgan argue that, in practice, the law keeps them from doing key parts of their work over fear of criminal prosecution.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-election-workers-ask-federal-223649243.html