Attorney General Ken Paxton today issued the following statement after a U.S. District Court in San Antonio sided with Texas and dismissed a lawsuit challenging the time-honored Electoral College system used in every presidential election since 1789:
“The Constitution allows states to appoint electors ‘in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.’ Texas chose the winner-take-all method that 47 other states also use, a method that has been in constant use since 1789,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Only an amendment to the Constitution can change or eliminate the stable and successful presidential election system designed by our Founders.”
A federal lawsuit filed last March against Texas sought to end the Electoral College system that awards every electoral vote to the winning presidential candidate in each state. Texas is among 48 states and the District of Columbia that appoint its presidential electors through a statewide winner-take-all system. Nearly 50 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a decision rejecting the argument that the Electoral College system is unconstitutional.
View the U.S. District Court’s ruling here.