Fifth Circuit Doubtful of ADA Challenge to Texas Election Law

A Fifth Circuit panel sounded skeptical of claims that parts of a Texas mail-in voting law violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Judges Jerry Smith, Patrick Higginbotham, and Andrew Oldham — all Republican appointees to the federal appeals court — had few questions for lawyers defending the law, which Texas enacted in 2021 in the name of preventing voter fraud. Critics have argued that the law would make mail-in voting more difficult, particularly for disabled Texans, and a federal district judge sided with challengers in saying some of the provisions should be blocked.

Those measures “were implemented in a way ...