Georgia Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Allowing Early Voting on Saturday
Monday, January 22, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of State Health Services (the Department) today announced that the Texas Supreme Court has upheld the Department’s interpretation of the Texas Election Code, which has been in effect since January 2001. The court did not reach the issue of whether early voting should be allowed on Saturday, but instead upheld the Department’s interpretation of the statute.
The Department recently sent a letter to county election officials ordering them to provide a list of early voting locations where citizens may vote on Saturday. Those voting locations have to be identified by the Department before the election.
The Texas Supreme Court ruling was appealed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which has challenged the Department’s position in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Texas Fifth District, and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Texas, which has also appealed the decision. The Department of State Health Services will defend its interpretation of the Election Code, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will defend the Department’s actions.
“This opinion by the Texas Supreme Court proves that the Department of Health Services and the Texas Supreme Court have made up their minds to permit early voting on Saturdays—despite clear statutory and constitutional law mandating otherwise. Until there are constitutional and statutory changes, that will remain the law of the land,” said Patrick Sempech, chairman of the Freedom From Religion Foundation Center for Justice.
“Many voters and organizations have long sought to allow early voting on Saturday, particularly in counties in their own home states, but the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Supreme Court have decided to deny that wish, resulting in another long road for thousands of voters around the state,” said Jennifer Moore, director of the ACLU Texas Capital Region. “It is outrageous that the department is sending a letter ordering election officials to designate