Texas Scorecard reports, newly elected Democrat Maggie Ellis already wants to eliminate an accommodation that allows judges to refuse to perform weddings that conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs. Her goal is "either you perform all marriages, or none."
Ellis also happens to be the first LGBTQ+ person to win a statewide race in Texas. While currently married to a man, she previously had a wife.
In October 2025, the Texas Supreme Court clarified under Canon 4 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that judges are not required to perform so-called same-sex weddings, which was an issue working its way through the court.
Jonathan Covey, director of policy at Texas Values, says what's happening now is the Judge Diane Hansley scenario in Waco, Texas. Hansley, who is the justice of the peace of McLennan County, had received a warning in 2019 after performing weddings for heterosexual couples but referring same-sex couples to another officiant.
After she sued SCJC, the warning was removed
"In January of this year, the court came out and also said, 'Okay, but we're also making it clear that judges can decline same-sex weddings for religious reasons, but they can continue to perform opposite-sex weddings,'" Covey explains.
Ellis cannot make the decision to remove religious freedom protections without a vote of the court, she says.
"There would have to be a majority of the court that goes along with her. We're going to have a 5-4 court with Republicans in the majority," Covey states. "I think it's deeply troubling that you have an incoming chief justice that wants to roll back religious freedom protections as one of her really early priorities."
Taking away an accommodation, he says, would force faithful public servants to withdraw from a service that they've been providing their communities, and that's a real consequence, even if they remain in office.
