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Texas can no longer investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, federal judge says
The Texas Tribune ^ | Sept. 28, 2024 | Xiomara Moore

Posted on 09/30/2024 12:15:09 PM PDT by BigFreakinToad

A federal judge ruled on Saturday that part of a Texas law that enacted new voting restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution by being too vague and restricting free speech.

The ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, immediately halted the state’s ability to investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, such as the investigation into the League of United Latin American Citizens by Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Before today’s ruling, a person who knowingly provided or offered vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation was committing a third-degree felony. This meant that organizers of voter outreach organizations and even volunteers could spend up to ten years in prison and fined up to $10,000 for giving or offering these services.

Paxton on Monday vowed to appeal the ruling.

“A ruling—weeks prior to an election— preventing my office from investigating potential election violations is deeply troubling and risks undermining public trust in our political process,” he said.

According to Republican lawmakers, the provision was put in place to prevent voter fraud and secure election integrity. However, in the ruling, the judge noted that there was widespread confusion about how to implement the canvassing restriction from local election administrators. This confusion also left voter outreach organizations uncertain about whether they could provide volunteers with food or bus fare because it could look like compensation.

Many organizations – including La Union del Pueblo Entero, LULAC, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund – have filed lawsuits against many other provisions of the law, including voter assistance and mail-in ballot restrictions. The challenges to these provisions have not been ruled on yet. The original complaints were filed in August and September 2021.

Before the law, organizations like OCA-Greater Houston, an advocacy organization for people of Asian and Pacific Island descent, would host in-person election events and allow attendees to bring their mail-in ballots in order to receive help like language assistance.

Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, wrote that “Today’s ruling means that voter outreach organizers and other advocates in Texas can speak to mail ballot voters about issues on the ballot and urge voters to support improvements to their communities.”

ACLU of Texas celebrated the ruling on X saying, “This is a win for voting rights in the state, and for the organizations that help keep elections accessible.”


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government; Mexico; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: aclu; aliens; arrestrodriguez; arrestthejudge; bush; bushapppointee; deepstate; draintheswamp; dubya; dubyajudge; dubyastooge; electionfraud; electionfraud2024; elections; elekchunz; enemyjudge; fraud; gopestablishment; harris; ignorethejudge; investigation; judicialsedition; kamala; lulac; malde; maldef; ocagreaterhouston; rino; rinos; rodriguez; smirkingchimpjudge; smirkingchimpstooge; stayoutdabushes; stopthesteal; tarandfeathers; tds; texas; trump; uniparty; voting; wdtexas; wdtezas; xavierrodriguez; xiomaramoore
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federal judge, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez...Nuff Said
1 posted on 09/30/2024 12:15:10 PM PDT by BigFreakinToad
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To: BigFreakinToad

It is SO nice to know some conservative, somewhere, is doing something useful against the Liberal Complex.


2 posted on 09/30/2024 12:17:17 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

More of John Roberts’ finest.


3 posted on 09/30/2024 12:18:01 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: BigFreakinToad

Yup...the Invader dictates the terms of surrender to the Invaded.

Ju won’t stop us, Greengo! We gonna RULE ju!


4 posted on 09/30/2024 12:18:13 PM PDT by Regulator (It's fraud, Jim)
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To: BigFreakinToad

Off to the Fifth Circuit...


5 posted on 09/30/2024 12:18:36 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: BigFreakinToad

Appointed by George W. Bush. That says more than his name does.


6 posted on 09/30/2024 12:19:37 PM PDT by Fresh Wind (Kamala's New Way Forward = Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward)
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To: Regulator

yep, as one local ad for hispanic heritage month states, “we need more people that look like me to get elected and govern”
Govern my @$$


7 posted on 09/30/2024 12:19:51 PM PDT by BigFreakinToad (just remember the Harris algorithm runs at 3 am.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

First amendment?! What BS! There’s no first amendment violations here at all.

Ignore the ruling.


8 posted on 09/30/2024 12:23:27 PM PDT by Skywise
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To: BigFreakinToad

Republicans should dispatch similar “harvestors” into heavily democrat areas and collect as many ballots as possible. The ballots should be promptly delivered to the tabulating agency sometime around Jan 7, 2025


9 posted on 09/30/2024 12:24:59 PM PDT by Sgt_Schultze (When your business model depends on slave labor, you're always going to need more slaves.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

So the government actually wants to do something “for the people” and “integrity” and a federal judge says they can’t do it?


10 posted on 09/30/2024 12:26:30 PM PDT by mikelets456
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To: mikelets456

First amendment right does not apply to noncitizens nor does any amendment in the Bill of Rights.


11 posted on 09/30/2024 12:31:15 PM PDT by InsidiousMongo
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To: Fresh Wind

Yes.


12 posted on 09/30/2024 12:43:47 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: BigFreakinToad

So exactly who is supposed to investigate voter fraud?


13 posted on 09/30/2024 12:44:38 PM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: BigFreakinToad

The Federal Government’s job is to destroy America.

Prove me wrong.


14 posted on 09/30/2024 12:45:32 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: BigFreakinToad

Do it anyway.


15 posted on 09/30/2024 12:47:47 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: Zathras

Agree, ignore them

Resist🤣


16 posted on 09/30/2024 12:51:09 PM PDT by SteelPSUGOP (UGHT)
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To: BigFreakinToad
"restricting free speech"

How does this even enter into the equation?

17 posted on 09/30/2024 12:54:43 PM PDT by ducttape45 (Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?")
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To: BigFreakinToad

They aren’t even trying to disguise their crimes anymore.

They are either very confident they’ll get away with it or very desperate to cling to power, or both.


18 posted on 09/30/2024 12:55:05 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: ConservativeMind

yes.

yours: “It is SO nice to know some conservative, somewhere, is doing something useful against the Liberal Complex”

mine:
yes, maybe in Zimbabwe?


19 posted on 09/30/2024 12:56:15 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: SpaceBar
In America, where a democratic constitution has already been established, the communists must make the common cause with the party which will turn this constitution against the bourgeoisie and use it in the interests of the proletariat …

The Principles of Communism, #25
The unconstitutional federal bureaucracy’s “job” is to destroy the USA. The federal government was not originally so, but then along came the 16th and 17th Amendments (properly ratified?) that introduced the second plank of communism (“a heavy progressive or graduated income tax”) and removed state government representation in the federal government thus increasing centralization exponentially.
20 posted on 09/30/2024 12:59:17 PM PDT by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is going to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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