The Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals restored key provisions of Texas’s 2021 election law governing mail-in voting, reversing a lower-court ruling that had blocked them. The decision is significant because it strengthens the state’s ability to enforce identification requirements for postal ballots after a five-year legal dispute.

The 11-page ruling reinstated nine challenged parts of Senate Bill 1, including rules intended to verify voters’ identities when applying for and returning mail ballots. Supporters describe the measures as election-security safeguards, while opponents have argued that they could make voting by post more difficult for some eligible voters.