Tag Archives: Secretary of State

Apparently that challenge to the 2023 Constitutional amendment elections just went away

I’d been wondering about this. Legal challenges that threatened to upend Texas voter-approved property tax cuts and increases to retired teachers’ pensions appear to have been squashed by a coordinated effort between the governor, the attorney general and the secretary … Continue reading

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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

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Gillespie County to hand count primary ballots

Some lessons need to be learned the hard way. When Gillespie County Republicans conduct their primary in March, they will count votes in an ill-advised way: by hand, using scores of volunteers, without any machines. Even if they can pull … Continue reading

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One weird trick to make those election lawsuits go away

Worth a shot. Maybe it’ll work. State officials have apparently found a legal tactic to prevent a slew of election contest lawsuits from derailing the constitutional amendments that voters overwhelmingly approved in November. The state argued in court filings Tuesday … Continue reading

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Apparently there’s a lawsuit challenging the 2023 constitutional amendment elections

I feel like I’m running out of synonyms for “deranged” and “absurd”. Lawsuits based on false claims about voting equipment could delay millions of dollars in cost of living increases for retired teachers expected to arrive in January. The lawsuits … Continue reading

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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

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City runoff election will be December 9

Slightly reducing the overall intrigue factor of the season. The runoffs for Houston’s City Hall elections will be held Dec. 9, the secretary of state’s office confirmed on Tuesday. Houston voters will head to the polls Nov. 7 to elect … Continue reading

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The lawsuit over the omnibus voter suppression law has begun

Settle in, this will take awhile. Two years after voting rights groups challenged Texas Republicans’ sweeping overhaul of its voting and election laws, the case comes to trial Monday in a federal court in San Antonio. The lengthy roster of … Continue reading

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SCOTx denies stay request in elections administrator lawsuit

Welp. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Harris County’s request for an emergency order that would have allowed the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office to run the upcoming November election by temporarily delaying the implementation of a new state … Continue reading

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Part of the omnibus voter suppression law struck down

Some good news. A federal judge in San Antonio ruled this week that it is illegal for Texas elections officials to reject mail-in ballots and the applications for them over ID mistakes on elections paperwork. The requirement was part of … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Judge temporarily blocks law abolishing Harris County Elections Administrator

A good first step, but we’re far from finished here. The Texas Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday appealed the decision of a judge to temporarily block a new law passed by Republicans to abolish Harris County’s elections chief position. The … Continue reading

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Farewell, ERIC

Into the unknown… The Texas secretary of state submitted its exit notice Thursday to a national coalition that is one of the best tools to combat voter fraud, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Votebeat. The withdrawal from the … Continue reading

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Another interim AG appointed

All hail the latest temporary overlord. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that a longtime aide, Angela Colmenero, will serve as the second interim attorney general following Ken Paxton’s impeachment. After the House voted to impeach Paxton in May, he was … Continue reading

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Harris County files its first lawsuit over an election bill

Another early start, for a clear reason in this case. Harris County is headed to court to challenge a new state law that abolishes its elections office, County Attorney Christian Menefee announced Thursday. The county’s lawsuit aims to stop Senate Bill 1750 from going into … Continue reading

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What might come after ERIC

An interesting report from TPM. The Alan Vera Memorial Act both forces the state to leave ERIC, and also to find a replacement vendor — one that can do what ERIC does with a start-up cost of $100,000 or less, … Continue reading

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Abbott names former SOS John Scott as temporary AG

I honestly wasn’t sure he was going to bother with this. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday appointed Fort Worth lawyer and former Secretary of State John Scott as interim Texas attorney general, temporarily replacing Ken Paxton, who was suspended as … Continue reading

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A tale of two elections bills

The good news. Texas lawmakers have voted to reverse an expensive state law requiring election officials to replace all their current vote-counting equipment with technology that doesn’t exist. An unprecedented mandate the Legislature passed in 2021, without fully realizing its … Continue reading

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Harris County to sue over those two new election laws

I wish I felt more optimistic about this. Harris County will file a lawsuit challenging two Republican-backed election bills headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, County Attorney Christian Menefee announced Wednesday. At issue are two measures that apply only to Harris County, including one that abolishes … Continue reading

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Lege kneecaps Harris County elections

I have three things to say about this. The Texas House of Representatives voted Tuesday to force Harris County to eliminate its chief election official and to give state officials more authority over elections there. On a 81–62 party line … Continue reading

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Lege may fix one particularly dumb aspect of its omnibus voter suppression law

A small bit of progress. Texas lawmakers are trying to undo an expensive election problem they didn’t realize they had created in the first place. In 2021, they passed a law that is set to require counties to purchase vote-counting … Continue reading

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There’s nothing like ERIC

Be careful what you seek to destroy, Republicans. With some Texas Republicans pushing the state to abandon one its best tools for preventing voter fraud — a coalition of states that share voting roll data to weed out duplicate and … Continue reading

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Founder of that voter roll maintenance program that election denialists hate has stepped down

I’m sure this will calm everyone down and restore the faith everyone once had in this program. Right? David Becker, an election law advocate who helped create the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), is vacating his position on its board … Continue reading

Posted in National news, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The latest obsession of election denialist crackpots

You may want to sit down before you read this. In virtual meetings taking place over a year, right-wing activists and Republican legislators have stoked concern over a multistate coalition that Texas and more than 30 other states use to … Continue reading

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Lege targets Harris County election administrator

We knew something like this was coming. House and Senate bills filed by Republican lawmakers in response to Harris County’s mismanagement of its recent elections could give the Texas secretary of state the authority to step in, suspend county election … Continue reading

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The big voter suppression law is even worse than you thought

Such a lovely little surprise tucked in there. When state lawmakers passed a sweeping and controversial new election law in 2021, they quietly included a provision that drew little notice or debate. But election administration experts say the measure is … Continue reading

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More on the lawsuit against Paxton’s deranged ballot access opinion

There are actually three counties suing him, not just the one I had originally noted. At least three Texas counties — Tarrant, Williamson, and Harris — have sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and are asking a judge to strike down a legal … Continue reading

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Paxton sued over his deranged ballot access opinion

Good. The Williamson County attorney’s office has sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming a ruling he made that gives the public immediate access to ballots after an election violates state law. County officials, the lawsuit said, can be charged … Continue reading

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Yep, still no voter fraud found

So says the official 2020 election audit. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was neither widespread voter fraud nor other serious issues in Texas’ 2020 elections, according to an audit of four of Texas’ largest counties released Monday … Continue reading

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November 2022 mail ballot rejection report

Still getting better, still some room to improve. The statewide ballot rejection rate dramatically reduced to 2.7 percent in the general election this fall after it had skyrocketed to six times that in the primaries following the introduction of a … Continue reading

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Abbott to nominate Jane Nelson as next SOS

That was quick. Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he will nominate retiring state Sen. Jane Nelson to be secretary of state. The announcement comes one day after John Scott said he would step down from the role at the end … Continue reading

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Time for the biennial salute to the new Secretary of State

So long, John. Hope the next guy is better than you were. Texas Secretary of State John Scott will step down from his role as the state’s top elections official at the end of the year. “When I took office … Continue reading

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DaSean Jones wins after provisional and cured mail ballots are counted

I’m sure someone is going to throw a fit over this. The Harris County felony judge race for the 180th criminal state district court flipped Friday night in favor of incumbent DaSean Jones after new mail and provisional ballots were … Continue reading

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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

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