Supreme Court rejects Texas Democrats’ bid to allow all eligible voters to submit mail-ins

Under current laws, Texas only allows individuals over the age of 65 and those with disabilities to vote by mail. All other voters must vote in person at a polling station.

Democrats objected to the law, claiming that it violates the 26th amendment. Ratified in 1971, the 26th amendment prohibits states from discriminating against voters on the basis of age so long as they are over 18. Prior to its ratification, four states had set their voting age to 21.

The Supreme Court rejected these claims, siding with a previous court ruling.

The objection by Democrats was originally dismissed by the 5th Circuit Court, which ruled that "adding a benefit to another class of voters does not deny or abridge the plaintiffs’ Twenty-Sixth Amendment right to vote."

"There are quite reasonable concerns about voting in person, but the state’s mandating that many voters continue to vote in that way does not amount to an absolute prohibition of the right to vote," the court ruled.

The court did state, however, that the "real issue here is equal protection, and that is not before us."

Mail-in voting became a controversial and divisive issue during the election, with support and opposition following mostly along partisan lines. Democrats argued that mail-in voting would allow more people to vote during the pandemic where large gatherings of people at polling stations could risk spreading the coronavirus. Republicans objected, suggesting that allowing mail-in ballots to be submitted on a massive scale would lead to widescale voter fraud.

The 2020 presidential election ended up having the highest voter turnout rate since the election of 1900.