Judge Delivers Blockbuster Ruling - This Could Decide Who Wins the Midterms
AUSTIN, TX — A massive victory for election integrity has just been secured. In a blockbuster decision that could decide who wins the upcoming midterms, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld Texas’s strict prohibition on paid in-person ballot harvesting.
Reversing a lower court’s injunction, a unanimous three-judge panel allowed the law to take effect immediately, ensuring that partisan operatives can no longer profit from collecting or influencing mail-in ballots.
"FRAUD IS A REAL RISK"
The ruling officially reinstates Section 276.015 of the Texas Election Code, which was enacted as part of Senate Bill 1 in 2021. The statute makes it a crime to provide or offer "vote harvesting services" in exchange for compensation.
Writing for the panel, Judge Edith H. Jones completely dismantled the arguments from left-leaning voting groups who claimed the law was "vague" and chilled political speech. Applying the constitutional Anderson/Burdick balancing test, the court concluded that Texas has a "compelling interest" in protecting its elections.
"Fraud is a real risk that accompanies mail-in voting," Judge Jones wrote, citing the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee. "Texas has a compelling interest in preventing the pressure and intimidation common in third-party ballot collection."
COMMON SENSE OVER AI
In one of the most blistering sections of the opinion, Judge Jones took the lower district court to task not only for relying on "vague hypotheticals" and "speculative scenarios" but for reportedly using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make legal determinations.
Citing a Wall Street Journal report where the lower judge discussed using AI in election law cases, Judge Jones issued a stern rebuke:
"AI must not be a substitute for legal judgment."
The 5th Circuit emphasized that ordinary citizens are perfectly capable of understanding the "common-sense core" of the statute: you cannot get paid to harvest ballots. (Crucially, the law does not prohibit unpaid volunteer get-out-the-vote activities.)
SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY PROTECTED
The panel also found that the district court violated sovereign immunity by wrongly issuing an injunction against state officials like the Texas Attorney General and Secretary of State, who cannot be sued unless they have an active role in enforcing the statute.
Republican organizations, including the Republican National Committee (RNC) which intervened in the case, are hailing the ruling as a massive win.
"It should go without saying that a state may take action to prevent election fraud," the opinion finalized. With the injunction lifted, Texas is now fully empowered to enforce criminal penalties on anyone attempting to illegally harvest votes for cash.
SPRINGFIELD, MA — A massive scandal has erupted inside the administration of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a prominent Democrat frequently floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
LaMar Cook, the deputy director of Healey’s western Massachusetts office since 2023, has been arrested and charged in connection to a staggering cocaine trafficking syndicate. Authorities allege the high-level political staffer used a state government building as a receiving hub for multi-kilogram shipments of narcotics.
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THE COCAINE TRAFFICKING OPERATION
The 45-year-old Democratic aide was taken into custody following a targeted traffic stop, days after law enforcement executed a "controlled delivery operation" that caught him red-handed. Cook has officially been charged with trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine, illegal possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.
In total, investigators have linked a staggering 21 kilograms (over 46 pounds) of suspected cocaine to the ongoing probe.
