Harris County has been sued by the Texas attorney general on Monday after it refused to drop plans to send mail-in ballot applications to more than 2 million registered voters.

Mail-in Ballot
(Photo : Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
Election workers open mail-in ballots at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office on November 6, 2012 in Boulder, Colorado.

Attorney General Ken Paxton acted at the request of the secretary of state. He asked a state district court to bar Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins from providing the mail-in ballot applications to every registered voter in the county.

Paxton alleged that Hollins does not have the power to carry out such a plan in Harris County, Texas Tribune said in a report.

The lawsuit marks the latest development on mail-in ballot voting debates in Texas.

The fight first focused on which voters can cast absentee ballots, but it has grown now. It now includes a legal spat between the state and its most populous county by over who can apply for a mail-in ballot.

An Associated Press report said the plans to send all registered voters the application were announced by the county this month.

It was also announced that mail-in ballots would be sent whether or not a person is qualified to vote by mail. This is generally restricted in Texas to voters who are 65 years old or older, disabled, or outside the county on Election Day, as noted by Texas Public Radio.

Texas Supreme Court had ruled earlier this year that fear of catching COVID-19 does not qualify as a disability under Texas law.

Texas GOP Leaders Resist Mail-in Ballots

Restrictions on mail-in voting had been loosened be several states due to COVID-19 concerns. But Texas' GOP leaders have opposed calls to expand it.

This stand is aligned with President Donald Trump. He claimed that widespread use of this method would increase election fraud and uncertainty.

Yet, there is no proof of widespread voter fraud that can be done through mail-in voting.

The Monday action is the most prominent time that the state had gone in between local election practices. No state law clearly bans election officials from sending out the applications to all voters.

But Paxton argued that county clerks are only "expressly empowered" by Texas Election Code to send out applications for those who request it. He pointed out that there is no statute letting them send vote by mail applications to voters who did not ask for it.

He said Hollins's plans to send vote-by-mail applications to all registered voters are not part of his duties as the county clerk.

Local Election Officials Look On

Until now, local election officials and county clerks had merely looked on as Texas GOP leaders fought with state Democrats and civil rights groups. They are the ones in charge of carrying out the elections.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter that Harris County's plans could lead to voter fraud and "compromise election results."

Hollins did counter the accusations said by Paxton. He said they only plan to provide clarity on voters' rights.

He said the county would only shed light on who is eligible to apply for a mail-in ballot.

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