XPost: alt.coronavirus, alt.politics.elections, sac.politics   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: bksherman@nytimes.com   
      
   Washington, DC (CNN)A Texas judge on Friday ruled that all   
   registered voters in the state should be allowed to request and   
   use mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.   
      
   District Judge Tim Sulak, in a ruling filed Friday in Travis   
   County, issued a temporary injunction that eases the definition   
   of "disability" in Texas' vote-by-mail provision, making it   
   apply to all registered voters who fear for their health in   
   casting ballots in person for the state's upcoming elections.   
      
   Texas' election code defines "disability" as "a sickness or   
   physical condition that prevents the voter from appearing at the   
   polling place on election day without a likelihood of needing   
   personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health." Voters   
   who meet this definition and wish to vote by mail must submit   
   applications.   
      
   Sulak acknowledged during a court hearing on Wednesday that he   
   expects an appeal from the state attorney's office, which has   
   issued guidance that fear of Covid-19 does not qualify as a   
   disability.   
      
   "Moreover the evidence shows that voters and these Plaintiffs   
   ... are reasonable that voting in person while the virus that   
   causes Covid-19 is still in general circulation presents a   
   likelihood of injuring their health, and any voters without   
   established immunity meet the plain language definition of   
   disability thereby entitling them to a mailed ballot," the order   
   read.   
      
   In late March, Gov. Greg Abbott postponed dozens of election   
   runoffs statewide for party nominations to congressional and   
   local offices, set for May 26, until July 14. The new date was   
   made to coincide with a competitive special election for a Texas   
   state Senate seat. In issuing the delay, Abbott didn't weigh in   
   on whether to expand mail-in voting access.   
      
   In a separate ruling on Friday, Sulak also aligned the dates for   
   early voting for the special election and the runoff to July 6-   
   10.   
      
   The Texas Democratic Party, the original plaintiff in the case,   
   rushed to declare victory after leaving court on Wednesday, in   
   anticipation of the court ruling in their favor. The group   
   argued that Covid-19 posed a significant health threat to voters   
   if they were forced to cast ballots in person.   
      
   "We cannot allow this public health crisis to be the death of   
   our democracy when it is taking so many of our loved ones,"   
   Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a press   
   release.   
      
   "Our state is better off when more Texans participate in our   
   democracy. Voting by mail is safe, secure, and accessible. It   
   allows more voters to participate in our democracy, and it's a   
   commonsense way to run an election, especially during a public   
   health crisis," Hinojosa added.   
      
   "We just won a preliminary injunction in Texas. All voters get   
   to vote by mail in the primary. No individualized excuses   
   necessary. The coronavirus is a universal excuse. GREAT WORK,"   
   David Cole, national legal director for the ACLU, said Wednesday   
   in a Twitter post.   
      
   In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a statement   
   late Wednesday, expressed disappointment, saying in part that   
   the district court had ignored the plain text of the state   
   election code in order to allow healthy voters to take advantage   
   of special protections made available to Texans with illnesses   
   or disabilities.   
      
   "This unlawful expansion of mail-in voting will only serve to   
   undermine the security and integrity of our elections and to   
   facilitate fraud. ... My office will continue to defend Texas's   
   election laws to ensure that our elections are fair and our   
   democratic process is lawfully maintained," Paxton, a   
   Republican, said in the statement.   
      
   The Texas state attorney's office, in response to the court   
   ruling, filed a notice of appeal late Friday.   
      
   cnn.com/2020/04/17/politics/texas-voting-by-mail-disability-   
   coronavirus/index.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)