Tex. League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Abbott
| Decision Date | 09 October 2020 |
| Docket Number | 1:20-CV-1006-RP (lead case),1:20-CV-1015-RP |
| Citation | 493 F.Supp.3d 548 |
| Parties | TEXAS LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, National League of United Latin American Citizens, League of Women Voters of Texas, Ralph Edelback, and Barbara Mason, Plaintiffs, v. Greg ABBOTT, in his official capacity as Governor of Texas, Ruth Hughs, in her official capacity as Texas Secretary of State, Dana DeBeauvoir, in her official capacity as Travis County Clerk, Chris Hollins, in his official capacity as Harris County Clerk, John M. Oldham, in his official capacity as Fort Bend County Elections Administrator, and Lisa Renee Wise, in her official capacity as El Paso County Elections Administrator, Defendants. Laurie-Jo Straty, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, and BigTent Creative, Plaintiffs, v. Gregory Abbott, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Texas, and Ruth Hughs, in her official capacity as Texas Secretary of State, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
Danielle Sivalingam Serbin, Gillian C. Kuhlmann, Perkins Coie LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Jessica R. Frenkel, Perkins Coie LLP, Denver, CO, John M. Devaney, John M. Geise, Stephanie I. Command, Marc Erik Elias, Perkings Coie LLP, Washington, DC, Skyler M. Howton, Perkins Coie LLP, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiffs.
Patrick K. Sweeten, William Thomas Thompson, Eric A. Hudson, Todd Lawrence Disher, Office of the Attorney General, Austin, TX, for Defendants.
Before the Court are Plaintiffs Texas League of United Latin American Citizens, National League of United Latin American Citizens, League of Women Voters of Texas, Ralph Edelbach, and Barbara Mason's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO") and Preliminary Injunction, (Mot. TRO, Dkt. 15),1 and Governor Greg Abbott ("Governor Abbott") and Secretary Ruth Hugh's ("Secretary Hughs") Motion to Dismiss, (Mot. Dismiss, Dkt. 31). On October 6, 2020, this Court consolidated the TRO with the motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed in a related case2 for the limited purpose of simultaneously resolving the requests for preliminary injunctive relief in both cases.3 (Case No. 1:20-cv-1015, Order, Dkt. 21). Having considered the briefing, the arguments made at the hearing, the evidence, and the relevant law, the Court will issue a preliminary injunction and grant in part and deny in part the Motion to Dismiss.
The pending motions for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction arise from Governor Abbott's October 1, 2020 proclamation prohibiting Texas counties from providing absentee voters with more than one location where they can return completed absentee ballots in person (the "October 1 Order").4 Governor Abbott's October 1 Order came on the heels of his July 27, 2020 proclamation (the "July 27 Order"), which allowed voters "to deliver a marked mail ballot in person ... prior to and including on election day," at one or more locations.5 Plaintiffs move for a preliminary injunction based on their claims that the October 1 Order places an undue burden on the right to vote under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The LULAC Plaintiffs also argue that the October 1 Order violates the Voting Rights Act. (Am. Compl, Dkt. 16, at 19).6 The Straty Plaintiffs separately bring a cause of action under the Ku Klux Klan Act. (1-20-cv-1015, Compl., Dkt. 1, at 18).
Before Governor Abbott issued his July 27 Order, the rules governing absentee ballots emanated from the Texas Election Code. Under Section 86.006(a-1), an absentee voter could "deliver a marked ballot in person to the early voting clerk's office only while the polls are open on election day" if they presented "an acceptable form of identification." Tex. Elec. Code § 86.006 (2017). Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Governor also declared a state of disaster for the State of Texas on March 13, 2020.7
On July 27, 2020, Governor Abbott issued an executive order allowing (1) in-person early voting to begin on October 13 and (2) absentee ballots to be delivered "in person to the early voting clerk's office prior to" election day. (Am Compl., Dkt. 16, at 9; 1-20-cv-1015, July 27 Order, Dkt. 11-18). In issuing the July 27 Order to allow absentee voters expanded opportunities to return their ballots in person, Governor Abbott recognized the need to allow greater options to return absentee ballots in person to "ensure that elections proceed efficiently and safely." (Id. ). Allowing greater options for in-person delivery of absentee ballots aligns with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's recommendation that there be at least one ballot return center for every 15,000 to 2,000 registered voters, with added return centers in "communities with [historically] low vote by mail usage" such as Texas. (1-20-cv-1015, Compl., Dkt. 1, at 14–15).
The July 27 Order allowed voters to return their completed ballots on Election Day and during the early voting period beginning October 13, 2020 to the ballot return centers that are available "before, during, and after business hours in the weeks leading up to the election so that voters may quickly and efficiently submit their completed ballots as their schedules allow." (1-20-cv-1015, Compl., Dkt. 1, at 3). The July 27 Order did not place limits on the number of ballot return centers counties were permitted to operate, allowing elected county officials in each Texas county to determine whether to have additional ballot return centers during the early voting period and how many ballot return centers to open. . If a county opened one or more ballot return centers, the county's ballot return centers and the employees who worked in those offices would be subject to the same election laws and rules. (Hollins Supp. Decl., Dkt. 51-1, at 1; Oldham Decl., Dkt. 21, at 8; DeBeauvoir Decl., Dkt. 18, at 7). Governor Abbott's July 27 Order did not loosen the statutory restrictions on how an absentee ballot is completed, transported, submitted, processed, secured, or stored. See, e.g. , Tex. Elec. Code § 86.011 ().
After Governor Abbott issued his July 27 Order, State of Texas officials confirmed on several occasions that absentee ballots could be returned to any ballot return center in one's county. For example, on August 26, 2020, an attorney in the Elections Division of the Secretary of State's office stated that in-person delivery of an absentee ballot "may include satellite offices of the early voting clerk." (1-20-cv-1015, Email Dkt. 11-20, at 38). On September 30, 2020, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ("Attorney General Paxton") and Kyle Hawkins, the Solicitor General of Texas ("Solicitor General Hawkins") submitted that statement from the Elections Division attorney as an exhibit in support of their brief filed with the Supreme Court of Texas in another case involving the July 27 Order. (Resp. Mandamus Brief, Dkt. 11-21, at 38). In that brief, Attorney General Paxton and Solicitor General Hawkins explained to the Texas Supreme Court that nothing in the Election Code or the July 27 Order precluded county officials from having more than one ballot return center. (Id. ). They also specifically confirmed that "the Secretary of State has advised local officials that the [Texas] Legislature has permitted ballots to be returned to any early-voting clerk office." (Id. ).
In response to Governor Abbott's July 27 Order and with assurances from Secretary Hughs, Attorney General Abbott, and Solicitor General Hawkins, counties designed, publicized, and began operating ballot return centers to ensure the safety of absentee voters who are "older, sick, or have disabilities that prevent them from voting in person, and are thus at particularly high risk of COVID-19." (Am Compl., Dkt. 16, at 10). Several counties decided to offer multiple ballot return centers because "the size of some counties would make it difficult, if not impossible, for some voters to return their ballots to election administration headquarters in each county." (1-20-cv-1015, Compl., Dkt. 1, at 13). For example, on August 14, 2020, the Harris County Clerk announced his intention to open eleven ballot return centers to accept absentee ballots during early voting. (Mot. TRO, Dkt. 15, at 2). On October 1, 2020, the Fort Bend County Clerk announced his plan to accept absentee ballots at five locations. (1-20-cv-1015, Houston Chron., Dkt. 11-24, at 4).
On October 1, 2020, after voting had already begun, Governor Abbott changed the rules and—in contradiction to his July 27 Order and the assurances by other state officials including Secretary Hughs, Attorney General Paxton, and Solicitor General Hawkins—ordered county election officials to offer their absentee voters no more than one ballot return center per county. (Am. Compl., Dkt. 16, at 1; 1-20-cv-1015, Mot. TRO, Dkt. 15, at 3; Oct. Proc. Dkt. 11-23).8 Governor Abbott cited a need to "add ballot security protocols for when a voter returns a marked mail ballot to the early voting clerk's office" as his reasoning for issuing the October 1 Order. (Mot. TRO, Dkt. 15, at 3; 1-20-cv-1015, Compl., Dkt. 1, at 13).
The October 1 Order only impacts absentee voters who, as defined by Texas law, either (1) will be away from their county on Election Day and during early voting; (2) are sick or have a disability; (3) are 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or (4) are confined in jail, but eligible to vote. Tex. Elec. Code §§ 82.001, 82.002, 82.003, 82.004. Texas is expected to witness an "unprecedented surge in mail voting" in the...
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...Am. Citizens v. Hughs, 978 F.3d 136, 141 (5th Cir. 2020). 234. Complaint at 11, Tex. League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Abbott, 493 F. Supp. 3d 548 (W.D. Tex. 2020) (No. 1:20-cv-1006). 235. TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 418.016 (West 2021). 236. Tex. League , 978 F.3d at 145. 237. Id . at 144.......