A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has given a huge victory to election integrity supporters.
Its ruling said Texas is allowed to ban paid political vote harvesting.
“The Supreme Court has long recognized that ‘a state has a compelling interest in protecting voters from confusion and undue influence’ and in ‘ensuring that an individual’s right to vote is not undermined by fraud in the election process,’” the opinion said. “These compelling interests in election security are heightened for mail-in voting because ‘vote buying schemes are far more difficult to detect when citizens vote by mail’ and ‘fraud is a real risk that accompanies mail-in voting.’”
According to a report from Courthousenews, “The panel also found that the law does not violate the First Amendment, as it regulates ‘the mechanics of the electoral process’ and that, even if that was not the case, the ban is justified by the need to protect the integrity of the voting process.”
A lower court judge had incorrectly blocked the Texas law that was adopted in 2021 amid the scandals that erupted during Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over President Donald Trump.
That election was the subject to multiple undue influences, including the $400 million plus Mark Zuckerberg handed out to various local elections officials who often used it to recruit Democrats, and the FBI’s decision to interfere in the vote by claiming, falsely, that the scandals about the Biden family uncovered in an abandoned laptop computer were Russian disinformation.
The law banned canvassers from getting pay or any other benefit for “vote harvesting services.”
Violations were a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Harvesting scheme supporters claimed the law would force them to change their political efforts so they wouldn’t accidentally violate the law.
It was Xavier Rodriguez, a judge in the state’s western district, who halted enforcement of the law.
The appeals ruling criticized him for “vague hypotheticals,” and said, “In contrast to this judicial myopia, ordinary citizens serving on a jury ‘should be capable of understanding’ this statute’s ‘common-sense core of meaning,’” the ruling said.
The 5th Circuit has UPHELD a Texas law that criminalizes paid in-person ballot harvesting, reversing a district court injunction and allowing the law to take effect. pic.twitter.com/qP5jjlQWpx
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) February 12, 2026
Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Landmark Legal Victory to Ban Ballot Harvesting in Texas and Protect Election Integrity: https://t.co/qxmuRQbZ8N
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) February 13, 2026
This is what illegal Ballot Harvesting looked like in Georgia. Harvesters were paid per ballot – this criminal was kind enough to drop off his ballots in broad daylight. And we have the video…https://t.co/bJFUK4ya6q pic.twitter.com/bPTb5DS9TK
— United Tea Party GA (@UTPGA) January 28, 2022
President Trump joined the conversation about election integrity also on Friday, explaining, “The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections.
“This was not what our Founders desired. I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future. There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not! Also, the People of our Country are insisting on Citizenship, and No Mail-In Ballots, with exceptions for Military, Disability, Illness, or Travel. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 13, 2026