Federal Appeals Court Backs Texas Mail-In Voter ID Law
Texas scored a major legal victory for election integrity this week as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state can require mail-in voters to provide identification numbers matching state records — a safeguard that Democrats and left-wing groups had spent years trying to block.
In a decisive opinion authored by Judge James Ho, the three-judge panel reversed a lower court ruling that struck down the ID match provision, declaring that Texas’ system is both constitutional and commonsense.
The court concluded the requirement is “obviously designed to confirm that every mail-in voter is indeed who he claims he is.”
Judges Patrick Higginbotham and Don Willett joined Ho in the 3–0 decision, which lifted the prior injunction that had been imposed in 2023.
The ruling, in United States v. Paxton (No. 23-50885, decided Aug. 4, 2025), sided squarely with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, rejecting the Biden Justice Department’s claim that the state’s voter ID verification process violated the Civil Rights Act.
The Biden DOJ — joined by the ACLU, Disability Rights Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, and the Democratic National Committee — argued that the matching process caused ballots to be rejected unfairly. But the court wasn’t persuaded.
“We have no difficulty concluding that the law is compliant,” the panel stated, dismantling the lower court’s finding that the voter ID match was “immaterial” to determining eligibility.
The decision cements the state’s right to enforce S.B. 1, a sweeping 2021 election reform package passed by Texas Republicans after the chaos of the 2020 election. The law requires voters submitting mail-in ballots to provide a driver’s license, state ID, or Social Security number matching state records — a step meant to prevent fraud and ensure ballots are cast by legitimate voters.
Democrats and activist groups had accused Texas of “voter suppression,” but the appeals court said such arguments were unfounded. During February’s oral arguments, the judges didn’t ask a single question of the Texas attorney general’s legal team, signaling their skepticism toward the DOJ’s case.
Attorney General Ken Paxton hailed the decision as a “critical victory for free and fair elections.” The ruling came the same day Paxton backed a Texas House resolution calling for the arrest of Democrat lawmakers who fled the Capitol to block quorum — another flashpoint in the state’s battle over election law.
The victory also arrives as Democrats face historic political headwinds.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released this week, 53% of Democratic voters disapprove of how their party’s lawmakers are performing in Congress, while only 41% approve — the lowest ratings since the poll began tracking the question in 2009.
Among all voters, Democrats in Congress hold a dismal 21% approval rating, tying their all-time low.
By contrast, 79% of Republican voters approve of how GOP lawmakers are handling their duties, though overall approval for Republicans in Congress stands at 32%.
The polling reflects a broader collapse in Democrat enthusiasm following the return of President Donald J. Trump to the White House and Republican control of both the Senate and House. Trump’s America First resurgence has energized conservatives nationwide — while Democrats appear increasingly divided, demoralized, and directionless.
As President Trump continues to restore faith in America’s institutions, this latest ruling underscores a key pillar of his agenda: ensuring that every legal vote counts — and only legal votes count.