Tag Archives: Secretary of State

There is no reason to trust John Scott

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He deserves zero benefit of the doubt. Texas’ new secretary of state says he wants to “restore confidence” in the state’s elections, despite a background that includes helping former President Donald Trump challenge the 2020 presidential election results in Pennsylvania. … Continue reading →

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Abbott picks Trumpy Secretary of State

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Red alert, this is not good. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday appointed John Scott — a Fort Worth attorney who briefly represented former President Donald Trump in a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania — as Texas’ new … Continue reading →

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First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading →

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More on the Mac Walker ballot name situation

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good move by HISD. Houston ISD on Tuesday took responsibility for failing to include the nickname of a trustee candidate when it entered his name in a county elections office portal. Lee “Mac” Walker, vying for district 7, said last … Continue reading →

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What’s in a ballot name, 2021 edition

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is unfortunate. A candidate for the Houston ISD Board of Education said Friday his name has been printed incorrectly on ballots and county elections officials said it is too late to change the name. Lee “Mac” Walker, running for … Continue reading →

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One more lawsuit against Texas’ voter suppression law

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Mi Familia Vota: Non-profit civic engagement organization Mi Familia Vota, along with individual voters, filed suit today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio seeking to block a new voter suppression … Continue reading →

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A little sandbagging from the SOS on the fraudit

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who’s running this show? In the five days since the Texas secretary of state’s office announced it is auditing the 2020 general election in four counties, local officials indicated they were in the dark about what the reviews would entail. … Continue reading →

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More on the fraudit

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

My God, Greg Abbott is a wimp. Donald Trump’s letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott demanding he pursue an “audit” of the 2020 election set off a “mad dash” in the governor’s office as aides sought to figure out just … Continue reading →

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So we have a fraudit

Posted on September 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What a load of crap. The Texas secretary of state’s office announced late Thursday that it has begun a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 general election in four Texas counties: Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant. But the statement from … Continue reading →

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A kinder, gentler voter purge

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

How nice. Two years after Texas officials fumbled an effort to double-check the voting rolls on a hunt for non-citizens — and instead threatened the voting rights of nearly 60,000 eligible Texans — similar efforts to purge non-citizen voters are … Continue reading →

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First two lawsuits filed against the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

No time wasted. The top elections official in Harris County and a host of organizations that serve Texans of color and Texans with disabilities have fired the opening salvos in what’s expected to be an extensive legal battle over Texas’ … Continue reading →

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Of course there’s time for a stupid election “audit” bill

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of course there is. Fresh off their success passing legislation to tighten Texas voting laws, Republicans in the Texas Senate are working to hastily push through a bill filed just two days ago that would pave the way for county … Continue reading →

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Day 13 quorum busting post: Just a reminder, the voter suppression bill still sucks

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that in a minute, but first there’s this bit of business. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, signed a civil warrant for the arrest of state Rep. Philip Cortez, a San Antonio Democrat who rejoined his colleagues … Continue reading →

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Here are your new SB7s

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the House. The Texas House is starting off on a new foot on the contentious elections proposal that blew up the regular legislative session. As a special session reviving the Republican-priority bill got underway Thursday, there were … Continue reading →

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SOS Hughs resigns

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In retrospect, I should have seen this coming. Texas Secretary of State Ruth Ruggero Hughs announced Friday she will step down from her post as the state’s top elections official, less than two years into her term. The decision comes … Continue reading →

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Trying to make the sausage less bad

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe walsk us through some bipartisan negotiations on HB6, the House version of the big Senate voter suppression bill, as three Democrats who want to make this bad bill slightly less bad work with a couple of Republicans who … Continue reading →

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The Briscoe Cain follies

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. The Texas House Elections Committee abruptly ended its meeting [Thursday] before about 200 people who traveled to the Capitol could testify on a controversial anti-voter fraud bill. Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, who chairs … Continue reading →

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It’s Voter Suppression Week in the Senate

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Delayed by a day, but that won’t stop anything. Republican lawmakers in Texas are attempting to cement more bricks into the wall they hope will shield their hold on power from the state’s changing electorate. After more than 20 years … Continue reading →

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Republicans roll out their big voter suppression bill

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They can’t do anything about blackouts or floods or COVID vaccinations, but they sure can do this. Joining a nationwide movement by Republicans to enact new restrictions on voting, Gov. Greg Abbott indicated Monday he will back legislation to outlaw … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS rejects TDP petition on vote by mail

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Back to the lower court, I think. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a Democratic bid to force universal vote-by-mail in Texas, leaving intact a state law that lets people cast no-excuse absentee ballots only if they are 65 or … Continue reading →

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Do we still have to worry about the Elections Administrator’s office?

Posted on December 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little hesitant to bring this up, but… This year, Harris County began the process of consolidating the two offices that have historically handled elections — the county clerk and the tax assessor-collector’s office — under one roof. Isabel … Continue reading →

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TDP asks SCOTUS to review age discrimination claim in mail voting

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Today, the Texas Democratic Party and voters filed their final brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking its review of the case filed last Spring which challenged the constitutionality of Texas’s law that limits voting by mail, … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court rejects Paxton allegation about Elections Administrator

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Straight to the point. The Democrats on Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday rejected an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in which he said they illegally created an independent elections office and hired an administrator. The move invites … Continue reading →

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Paxton has a tantrum about the Harris County Election Administrator

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Someone is going to have to help me understand this, because I’m clearly missing something. Harris County failed to follow the Texas Election Code when it created an independent election administration office, rendering the office and the appointment of Isabel … Continue reading →

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Federal judge denies Hotze petition

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully, this will be the end of this particular nonsense. A federal judge Monday rejected a request by a conservative activist and three Republican candidates to toss out nearly 127,000 votes cast at drive-thru polling sites in Texas’ most populous, … Continue reading →

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SCOTX rejects Hotze petition to throw out drive through votes

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One piece of good news. A legal cloud hanging over nearly 127,000 votes already cast in Harris County was at least temporarily lifted Sunday when the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by several conservative Republican activists and candidates to … Continue reading →

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Hotze and Woodfill take their fight against drive-thru voting to federal court

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just another quiet Saturday… . Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to … Continue reading →

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There’s still a lot of work to be done to make it easier to vote

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The ease of access for disabled voters is still a huge unaddressed issue. Val Vera finally cast his ballot after sitting for two hours in his van outside a Denton County polling place. He wasn’t waiting on people in line … Continue reading →

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One last, desperate attempt to kill drive-though voting

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

These guys really suck. Not much more can be said. A new challenge to Harris County’s drive-thru voting sites, filed by two GOP candidates and a Republican member of the Texas House, asks the state Supreme Court to void ballots … Continue reading →

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Try not to get sick before Election Day

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If you suffer a late illness that prevents you from getting to a polling place, you will need a doctor’s note to get an absentee ballot. Texas voters who get sick shortly before Election Day and can’t go to the … Continue reading →

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SCOTX rejects challenges to drive-through voting

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Halle-fricking-lujah. Voters in the state’s most populous county can continue casting their ballots for the fall election at 10 drive-thru polling places after the Texas Supreme Court Thursday rejected a last-minute challenge by the Texas and Harris County Republican parties, … Continue reading →

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Hollins calls on Secretary of State to defend drive through voting

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins is seeking assurance from Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs that her office is “committed to defending the votes” cast at the county’s drive-thru voting sites, the subject of two lawsuits currently before the … Continue reading →

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Your handwriting should not jeopardize your vote

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Jesus Christ. Texas election officials may continue rejecting mail-in ballots if they decide the signature on the ballot can’t be verified, without notifying voters until after the election that their ballot wasn’t counted, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading →

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All those voter registration efforts did what they set out to do

Posted on October 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

News item #1: Texas adds nearly 300,000 more voters in the last two weeks, approaches 17 million voters overall. In just two weeks, Texas added more than 284,000 more voters to its rolls just before the registration deadline and now … Continue reading →

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