Tag Archives: Secretary of State

So what did happen with the HD147 special election?

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I was alerted by a comment on an earlier post to this. Things are getting heated in the race to replace State Representative Garnet Coleman in District 147. Jolanda Jones narrowly won the race in Saturday’s special election with 202 … Continue reading →

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On reporting election night results faster

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Ahead of next week’s primary runoff elections, Harris County officials are recruiting county staffers to help speed up the results by picking up ballots at polling locations and driving them to the county’s central count location. … Continue reading →

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Actually, May Election Day vote reporting was basically fine

Posted on May 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This headline is correct, but it leaves out some relevant details. Even with help from constable’s offices, Harris County again was the last of the state’s largest counties to finish counting Saturday’s election results, turning its final tally to the … Continue reading →

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We have a final count of rejected mail ballots

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

About one in eight got canned. That’s a lot. The votes of more than 24,000 Texans who tried to cast ballots by mail were thrown out in the March primary — a dramatic increase in rejected ballots in the first … Continue reading →

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Sen. Powell ends her re-election bid

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Disappointing but understandable. State Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, ended her reelection campaign Wednesday morning, citing an “unwinnable race” in a district that Republican lawmakers had redrawn to make a Democratic win impossible. “Under the new map that will remain intact … Continue reading →

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Still more on the mail ballot rejections

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Associated Press moves the ball forward now that the votes have been canvassed. Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation’s first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules … Continue reading →

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A trifecta of crap from the Fifth Circuit

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. A federal appeals court has ruled for Texas in three lawsuits challenging the state’s voting laws, including mail-in ballot provisions and the elimination of straight-ticket voting. In a series of 2-1 rulings Wednesday evening, a panel … Continue reading →

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More data about mail ballot rejections

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Keep it coming. Thousands of Texans who attempted to vote by mail in the March primary were disenfranchised in the state’s first election conducted under a new Republican voting law. The state’s largest counties saw a significant spike in the … Continue reading →

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The rejected mail ballots of Bexar County

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Bexar County rejected mail-in ballots at roughly ten times the rate it did before the passage of the state’s new voting law last year. Before Senate Bill 1 took effect, with its … Continue reading →

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There were mail ballots not included in the count on Election Day

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oof, this is bad. Harris County Election Administrator Isabel Longoria’s office on Saturday announced that they have identified approximately 10,000 mail-in ballots that were not added to the original count on Election Night. The county said that approximately 6,000 of … Continue reading →

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Yeah, the mail ballot thing was a huge mess

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We still don’t know how huge. Election day has come and gone, but it remains unclear how many Texans were unable to vote after trying to cast ballots by mail under new Republican laws restricting that voting option. In the … Continue reading →

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Initial post-election wrapup

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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2022 primary results: Harris County

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There were some issues, as there always are. Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I vote early – less time pressure in case something happens. There was also an issue with reporting the early ballots. The Harris County Elections Administration … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when disability rights advocates were worried about the voter suppression bill?

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They were right to be worried. Because of course they were. As polls opened up for early voting this week, disability advocates say they still do not have adequate guidance from the state about new voter assistance rules and worry … Continue reading →

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2022 primary early voting, Day Four: Dan Patrick contributes to the mail ballot problem

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This fucking guy, I swear to God. Thousands of applications for mail-in ballots submitted by Texas voters have been delayed — and some voters may ultimately not receive ballots — because Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign instructed eligible voters to … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Scary story: . From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: “@TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges.” — Austin Statesman … Continue reading →

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No one should have to put up with this level of crappy service

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the plan. Make people give up and walk away. [Pam] Gaskin and her husband, Michael, were denied ballots twice this month over procedural mishaps — and if she were any less determined to vote, it may have stayed that … Continue reading →

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Voting Rights Groups Sue Texas for Failure to Disclose Records Related to Voter Purges

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and DĒMOS filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. … Continue reading →

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This is what voter suppression looks like

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. A Harris County man fears new voting laws may prevent him from voting by absentee ballot for the first time in his lifetime. Kenneth Thompson, 95, has been checking his mail daily … Continue reading →

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The story of the paper shortage and the voter registration forms, in two tweets

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One: . New: League of Women Voters of Texas has sent a letter to the Texas SOS threatening to sue the state unless they are provided with more copies of new voter registration forms. They say SOS is in violation … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the absentee ballot fiasco to improve

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things are working as planned. Signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in September, the voting law known as Senate Bill 1 contained an array of new restrictions on the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections. Among … Continue reading →

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Please watch over the fraudit

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good idea. A group of Democratic members of Congress from Texas has sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting that it closely monitor the ongoing election audit in four Texas counties. Last September, Texas Republicans began an audit in Harris, Tarrant, … Continue reading →

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Sure, let’s blame the supply chain for voter registration problems

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have a simple solution for this, if anyone wants to hear it. The Texas Secretary of State’s office is having more trouble than usual getting enough voter registration cards to groups who help Texans register to vote. Sam Taylor, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lots of mail ballot applications are being rejected now

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a feature, not a bug. Hundreds of Texans seeking to vote by mail in the upcoming March primary elections are seeing their applications for ballots rejected by local election offices trying to comply with stricter voting rules enacted … Continue reading →

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Fraudit fizzling

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Who could have ever predicted this would be a big ol’ nothingburger? The Texas secretary of state’s office has released the first batch of results from its review into the 2020 general election, finding few issues despite repeated, unsubstantiated claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

How’s that online voter registration thing going?

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty well, it seems. So well, perhaps, that the state of Texas doesn’t want to tell you how well. Since a federal judge forced Texas nearly a year and a half ago to offer limited online voter registration, 1.5 million … Continue reading →

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From the “Keeping track of all these lawsuits is hard” department

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Spotted on Democracy Docket: Today, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas denied a motion to dismiss Vote.org v. Callanen. The case, filed earlier this summer, challenges Texas’ “wet signature” law that requires individuals who submit … Continue reading →

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The botched “non-citizen” voter purge continues

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At some point we need to recognize the fact that our Secretary of State’s office is completely, and maybe maliciously, inept at doing this. Texas’ last attempt to scour its voting rolls for noncitizens two years ago quickly devolved into … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Filing update: More candidates than you can count

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This headline and first paragraph are short by a couple of candidates. A dozen potential challengers to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo were among the scores who filed ahead of Monday’s deadline to run for county offices next year. […] … Continue reading →

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Fraudit update

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, it’s still a thing. Texas Secretary of State John Scott announced late Friday that his office has presented an “exhaustive” document request to Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Harris counties as part of an audit of 2020′s election. Scott’s office … Continue reading →

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We continue to register more voters

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seventeen million and counting. Texas has surpassed 17 million registered voters for the first time, continuing a pace that is reshaping the state’s electorate so rapidly that even the politicians cannot keep up. Despite a series of new election regulations … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fraudit funding

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bullshit all the way down. GOP leaders on Friday approved shifting $4 million in emergency funds for the Texas secretary of state’s office to create an “Election Audit Division” at the agency, which will spearhead county election audits as … Continue reading →

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A brief update on the Gutierrez/Eckhardt redistricting lawsuit

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

First news we’ve had in awhile. Plaintiff: Democratic state Sens. Roland Gutierrez and Sarah Eckhardt What the lawsuit argues: Ahead of lawmakers’ third special session, two Democratic state senators sued to block the Legislature from redistricting in a special session … Continue reading →

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