OCA-Greater Houston v. Paxton

In September 2021, the ACLU, the ACLU of Texas, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Jenner & Block LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Texas, the OCA-Greater Houston, and REVUP Texas, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to challenge provisions of SB 1, an omnibus election bill that added voter suppression provisions to Texas’s election code.

The lawsuit challenges SB 1’s criminal ban on canvassing efforts under the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment, restrictions on voting assistance in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), and barriers to voting absentee in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

After Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, the state moved to dismiss the case claiming sovereign immunity from suit. The district court rejected the state’s motion to dismiss in August 2022, which the state appealed to the Fifth Circuit that Fall. A split Fifth Circuit panel issued a decision in December 2025 affirming in part the district court decision. The state sought review en banc, which is pending before the full Fifth Circuit.

Back in the district court, Plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment in May 2023 on the Civil Rights Act claim that the district court preliminarily ruled on in August 2023, finding absentee voting restrictions of SB 1 in violation of the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on immaterial requirements to make a ballot effective. Plaintiffs proceeded to trial on their remaining claims in September 2023. The court issued four separate decisions over the next two years that were each subsequently appealed.

First, the district court issued an opinion in November 2023 laying out its reasoning for the preliminary summary judgment decision. The state appealed, and following oral argument in February 2025, a Fifth Circuit panel reversed the district court’s decision.

Second, the district court ruled in September 2024 that SB 1’s criminalization of canvassers engaging with voters in the presence of their mail-in ballot violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The state appealed, and following oral

argument in December 2025, a Fifth Circuit panel reversed the district court’s decision.

Third, the district court ruled in October 2024 that SB 1’s restrictions on people assisting voters qualified to receive assistance violated Section 208 of the VRA. The state appealed, and following oral argument in April 2025 a split Fifth Circuit panel reversed the district court’s decision. Plaintiffs-Appellees filed a Writ for Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court seeking review of the Fifth Circuit decision in January 2026 that is pending review.

Fourth, the district court issued its final opinion in August 2025 finding SB 1’s restrictions on people assisting voters also violated the ADA. The state appealed and oral argument is scheduled for April 2026.