Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday filed an emergency motion for stay pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to block a district court order overriding a proclamation made by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The appeals court later granted the temporary stay.
On Oct. 1, Abbott issued a proclamation allowing voters who are eligible to vote by mail to hand-deliver their marked ballots to a designated county office at any time over the course of several weeks leading up to Election Day.
On Friday, a district court issued an injunction overriding Abbott’s decision and requiring county officials to accept hand-delivery of mail-in ballots at any county annex or satellite office, not just a single designated office.
"The district court’s order undermines our election security, disrupts the democratic process, and will only lead to voter confusion. It cannot stand,” Paxton said in a statement. “Mail-in ballots are particularly vulnerable to fraud. Protections that ensure their security must be upheld and my office will continue to fight for safe, free and fair elections.”