Fifth Circuit reverses in its entirety the injunction against nine provisions of Texas S.B. 1
A Fifth Circuit panel, in an opinion by Judge Andrew S. Oldham, reversed in its entirety a district court's award of permanent injunctive relief that had barred enforcement of nine provisions of Texas Senate Bill 1, holding that the bulk of the plaintiffs' claims fail for lack of standing.
What happened
The opinion in No. 25-50246 was filed on August 12, 2026 before Judges Higginbotham, Smith and Oldham, with Oldham writing. It opens by asserting that it has long been established that mail-in ballots are prone to fraud, and that this is why voting by mail jeopardizes election integrity and democracy itself. The plaintiffs had argued that the identification, curative and voter-assistance provisions of S.B. 1 violate Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and following a bench trial the district court permanently enjoined the Texas Secretary of State and various local officials from enforcing nine provisions of the law. The panel held that the plaintiffs' challenge to the identification provisions of S.B. 1 fails for lack of standing, that the bulk of the plaintiffs' claims fail for lack of standing, and that one fails on the merits.
Why it matters
The identification provisions the district court had enjoined require voters who vote by mail to provide an identification number or social security number that matches the State's records. Lifting a permanent injunction changes what the law does rather than what a court says about it, and it lands before the next federal election.