AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will immediately move to block a ruling that struck down a major element of Senate Bill 1, a key Texas election integrity law passed in 2021. A federal district court ruled Friday that a portion of the law was unconstitutional.
SB 1 increased safeguards to prevent ballot harvesting and instituted additional protections ensuring free and fair elections. However, a federal district court judge ruled that such provisions of the law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The judge also banned the Office of the Attorney General from opening investigations into instances of election fraud under the portion of election code enjoined by the decision.
“I will immediately move to block this unacceptable ruling so Texas can continue to defend its elections from bad actors seeking to undermine the ballot box,” said Attorney General Paxton. “A ruling—weeks prior to an election— preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process.”
