Tag Archives: paper ballots

Our one page ballot

Good news. Harris County voters and election workers can look forward to one major improvement in the upcoming March primaries: the county’s lengthy ballot now fits on one piece of paper, rather than two. The change is due to a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Someday the 2022 election will end

Today is not that day. Tomorrow doesn’t look so good either. It’s an Election Day mishap that will sound familiar to Harris County residents. Voters in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County temporarily were unable to cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Someday the 2022 election will end

Harris County elections update

No news is good news. By all accounts, Harris County pulled off a smooth local election last week under its newly reconfigured election administration. But officials didn’t have time to revel in it before a judge took them to task … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Whiny loser election lawsuits finally tossed

Good. The results of Harris County’s highly scrutinized November 2022 election were upheld Thursday evening by a judge, who threw out all but one remaining election contest out of 21 related lawsuits. Republican candidate Erin Lunceford filed her suit in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Whiny loser election lawsuits finally tossed

The looming Kerr County election disaster

I have five things to say about this. Responsibility for running elections in Kerr County has shifted among three different people in the past two months. The first two officials bailed on the job after a months-long effort by one … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Early voting starts Monday

Are you ready? Early voting for the November 7 Joint General & Special Elections begins Monday, October 23, and ends Friday, November 3. A total of 68 voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SOS releases 2022 Harris County election audit

They sure know how to time these things. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s office on Thursday released preliminary findings from its audit of Harris County’s November 2022 election, the latest analysis of an election that has been the subject … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SOS releases 2022 Harris County election audit

Whiny loser Mealer drops her election contest lawsuit

Girl, bye. Alexandra del Moral Mealer, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s former Republican opponent, dropped her lawsuit challenging the results of the election she lost last November by over 18,000 votes, according to court documents filed Thursday. Mealer filed an … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Harris County election duties return to County Clerk and Tax Assessor

Welp. Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum will not be involved in Harris County elections operations after Friday, as he will not be hired by the county clerk’s or tax assessor-collector’s offices as part of a massive reorganization. Harris County’s elections operations … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

One losing Republican drops his sore loser lawsuit

Interesting. A Harris County GOP judicial candidate dropped his lawsuit challenging his November election results, one of 21 similar pending lawsuits brought by defeated Republican candidates. Dan Spjut lost the race for the Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One losing Republican drops his sore loser lawsuit

Sore loser election contest lawsuit trial concludes

Up to the judge now. Attorneys made their closing arguments Thursday in a case aimed at throwing out Harris County’s November election results, the first to go to trial out of 21 pending lawsuits brought by defeated Republican candidates in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Checking in on the sore loser election contest lawsuit

It’s a lot of the same old song. Attorneys pored over Harris County voter records in a downtown courtroom Tuesday afternoon, arguing over the validity of thousands of ballots cast nearly nine months ago. It was the first day in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

First (and hopefully only) sore loser election contest lawsuit begins Tuesday

What a slog this has been. Republicans who have spent the past nine months questioning Harris County’s November elections will have their day in court Tuesday when the first of 21 lawsuits aimed at overturning the results will go to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

NEW Houston requests retraction of bad KHOU story about paper ballot issues

From the inbox: Houston Leaders Call on Channel 11 To Retract Discredited Report On 2022 Election Paper Shortages Two New Investigations Debunk Central Claims Presented to the Public by KHOU; Deeply Flawed and Misleading Report Used As Basis by Gov. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How the May election is being run in Harris County

Of interest. Fresh off last November’s midterm elections, Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum has implemented operational upgrades to the county’s system and vote collection process for presiding judges working at polling locations. These changes have been in full swing … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How the May election is being run in Harris County

The case of the no-evidence lawsuit

The lack of evidence in the Harris County election lawsuits is so glaring, I don’t know how we’re talking about anything else. In the weeks following Harris County’s November election, 22 Republican candidates who lost their races filed lawsuits challenging the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There were fewer voting sites with paper issues than we thought

That’s my takeaway from this. On Election Day last year, an unusual problem occurred around 6 p.m. — the polling place at El Lago City Hall ran out of paper ballots. Republican presiding judge Chris Russo, the election worker running … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

If Greg Abbott demands an investigation, Greg Abbott will get an investigation

This is all still so dumb. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is launching an investigation into “alleged irregularities” during last week’s election after receiving a referral from the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Ogg sent a letter to Texas Department … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on If Greg Abbott demands an investigation, Greg Abbott will get an investigation

This is all so dumb

I’m going to quote a large swath of this Reform Austin story because it sums up what has been happening the past couple of days better than I could. Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into Harris County’s election … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The “less is more” option for improving Election Day

This deserves serious consideration. Widespread problems with Harris County elections likely would be relieved if officials reduced the number of polling locations in favor of fewer sites that operate more efficiently, a Rice University researcher and some recent reports say. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There were still ballots being counted yesterday

I think they’re done now? It’s hard to say for sure from the story. With more than 1.1 million ballots cast, Harris County on Thursday still was counting ballots from Tuesday’s election. The county filed a request for an extension … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Some ideas for improving elections in Harris County

Put it on the new guy’s to do list. When Harris County’s new elections administrator starts the job next month, he will have less than three months to get ready before polls open on Oct. 24 for early voting in … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Primary checkup

Let me start this post off by once again noting that I cannot find any reporting, like at all, about how many mail ballots were rejected for the May elections. Just nothing. It’s as if interest in the subject by … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Primary checkup

Maybe suing to stop the vote count isn’t the best way to get the vote counted

Just a thought. The Harris County Elections Division released the final, unofficial primary elections results early Thursday, following a GOP petition to impound the records which stopped vote counts hours earlier. Citing malfunctions and a lack of testing of election … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Initial post-election wrapup

Just a few updates and observations to add onto what I posted yesterday morning. Any deeper thoughts, if I have them, will come later. – Cheri Thomas and William Demond won their races for the 14th Court of Appeals. I … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Today is primary day

Today’s the day! . ‼️ Tomorrow is Texas Primary Election Day! 👉 Be sure you are #VoterReady by downloading a sample ballot: http://harrisvotes.com/SampleBallot 📍 Pick from one of over 375 Polling locations at http://harrisvotes.com/PollLocations #YourVoteYourVoice #HarrisVotes — Harris County Elections … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting for the 2022 primaries starts today

From the inbox: Dear Voters, Below please find the link to the March 1 Primary Digital Toolkit. This Toolkit is a resource you can use to prepare for the upcoming Primary Election. Early Voting in Harris County begins, Monday, February … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Yes, most people will generally support the idea of decent election reforms

But that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for politicians who support them, and that right there makes all the difference. From the UH Hobby School, here’s part four of their January 2022 public opinion fest, which began with their election poll. … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yes, most people will generally support the idea of decent election reforms

Just be glad you’re not a Republican primary voter in Potter County

This is, and I cannot stress this enough, batshit crazy. The Potter County Republican Party plans to conduct its own election during the Texas primary on March 1, independent of the county election administration. People voting in Republican races on … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Meet your new voting machines

Long time coming. Harris County’s new voting machine, which county leaders showed off on Wednesday, incorporates old and new technology the county election administrator says will make voting easier and boost public confidence in elections. The Hart InterCivic Verity Duo, … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Commissioners Court approves funds for new voting machines

Long awaited. Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously approved a $54 million deal to replace the current eSlate machines with ones featuring touch screens, a paper backup and features that make voting more accessible for seniors and residents with disabilities. The … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Commissioners Court approves funds for new voting machines

A few words about election security

Lisa Gray talks to my friend Dan Wallach about everybody’s favorite subject. If I’m aiming to steal an election, what’s the best way to go about it? Are mail-in ballots the easiest? If your goal is to steal an election, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Denton County returns to paper ballots

I hadn’t realized this. Denton has been using a hybrid voting system that employs both electronic and paper ballots for about a decade. But county officials recently approved spending just shy of $9 million to buy new voting equipment from … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More on the STAR Voting System

The Chron updates us on the latest in modern voting technology. The drumbeat of election rigging and foreign hacking of voting machines have energized ongoing efforts to develop a new model of digital election equipment designed to produce instantly verifiable … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on the STAR Voting System