Tag Archives: Secretary of State

Update on that other vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Daily Kos: A federal judge has rejected Republican Secretary of State Ruth Hughs’ motion to dismiss a case brought by several Texas voters and civil rights organizations seeking to expand access to absentee voting for the November general election. Plaintiffs are asking the … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed over mobile voting locations

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know that there’s enough time for this to be heard, but it’s a good idea. Mi Familia Vota, the Texas NAACP and two Texas voters this week filed a suit against the state over its election policies, alleging they … Continue reading →

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Some brief runoff thoughts

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill here… – The Election Night Results page at the SOS shows 955,735 votes total in the Democratic Senate runoff. That number is likely to increase a bit over the next few days, as we’ll see shortly. … Continue reading →

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How can you vote if you currently have coronavirus?

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There is one way, if it is approved. Thousands of Harris County voters who recently have tested positive for coronavirus and now are quarantined should be allowed to vote online in the primary runoff election, County Attorney Vince Ryan argued … Continue reading →

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No relief from SCOTUS on vote by mail

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is not really a surprise. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an initial bid by state Democrats to expand voting by mail to all Texas voters during the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Samuel Alito — whose oversight of federal courts … Continue reading →

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Early voting for primary runoffs starts tomorrow

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the runoffs? It’s time we settle who our nominees are. Who can vote in the runoffs? Texas has open primaries, meaning you don’t have to be a registered member of either party to cast a ballot in a primary … Continue reading →

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Maybe we should have had this election in May

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, the irony. When the coronavirus threat was newer and seemed more immediate, Texas postponed its May elections to pick winners in several party primary runoffs, fearing the health risks of exposing voters and poll workers. With those statewide elections … Continue reading →

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TDP appeals to SCOTUS on vote by mail

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. After a series of losses in state and federal courts, Texas Democrats are looking to the U.S. Supreme Court to expand voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic. The Texas Democratic Party on Tuesday asked the high … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit extends block on vote by mail expansion

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not unexpected, unfortunately. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals extended its order Thursday blocking a lower court’s sweeping ruling that would have allowed all Texas voters to qualify to vote by mail during the coronavirus … Continue reading →

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Voter, sanitize thyself

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? With voting in the primary runoff election starting next month in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the Texas secretary of state on Tuesday issued “minimum recommended health protocols” for elections, including a suggestion that voters bring their own … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit flips the switch

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. A federal appeals court has temporarily put on hold a lower court’s sweeping ruling that would have allowed all Texas voters to qualify to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic. Siding with Texas Attorney General … Continue reading →

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Federal court issues order to allow voting by mail

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. A federal judge opened a path for a massive expansion in absentee voting in Texas by ordering Tuesday that all state voters, regardless of age, qualify for mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. Days after a … Continue reading →

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First federal vote by mail lawsuit hearing

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One down, two to go. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery heard arguments Friday in a federal lawsuit seeking to give all voters the option to vote by mail due to fears of catching or spreading the coronavirus. […] During Friday’s … Continue reading →

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LULAC joins TDP’s federal mail ballot lawsuit

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More plaintiffs, more fun. A prominent Latino civil rights group is jumping into the fight to expand Texas’ voting-by-mail eligibility, alleging the restriction that limits age eligibility for voting by mail to those 65 and older disproportionately harms Texas Latinos … Continue reading →

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Yet another lawsuit over voting by mail

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out there are a lot of obstacles to voting by mail in Texas, and so there are a lot of lawsuits being filed by various plaintiffs to rectify that. A coalition of voters and civil rights groups opened a … Continue reading →

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The TDP motion for a fast ruling in their federal vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this in passing in yesterday’s post, so here are some more details. Updating an ongoing lawsuit, the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday asked a federal judge in San Antonio to issue an order by May 15 requiring state … Continue reading →

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Harris County preps for more mail ballots

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to spend up to $12 million for an expected uptick in requests for mail-in ballots in the July primary runoff and November general election from voters concerned about contracting the novel coronavirus … Continue reading →

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How do you conduct an election in a pandemic?

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re about to find out, one way or another. There will be an election in Texas in mid-July, apparently with polling sites, election workers and voting machines in place so people can cast their ballots in person. How many voters … Continue reading →

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Here’s the official order in the TDP vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Round One went to the plaintiffs. From there, who knows. A Texas state district judge on Friday issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts … Continue reading →

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TDP gets initial win in vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go. A state district judge on Wednesday said he will move forward with an order easing restrictions for voting by mail in Texas in light of the new coronavirus … Continue reading →

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Another view of the lawsuit over expanded voting by mail

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Ian Millhiser at Vox, who is decidedly more pessimistic about the plaintiffs’ chances. He starts by noting how restrictive Texas’ existing vote-by-mail law is. The law only allows Texas voters to obtain an absentee ballot under a very limited … Continue reading →

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TDP files federal lawsuit over expanded vote by mail

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Double your venues, (hopefully) double your chances of success. With primary election runoffs scheduled for July and the November general election on the horizon, the Texas Democratic Party has expanded its ongoing fight for more widespread mail-in balloting to federal … Continue reading →

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SOS moves towards increasing vote by mail

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? Texas is opening the door to an expansion of mail-in voting during the coronavirus outbreak, though the state is unlikely to heed calls to have every voter cast ballots by mail to avoid exposure to COVID-19 at … Continue reading →

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The May elections will not happen

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not in May, anyway. Citing the state’s stay-at-home order, the Texas secretary of state is instructing municipalities to delay their May 2 elections. In an email to local election officials sent Thursday afternoon, the state’s director of elections, Keith Ingram, … Continue reading →

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Intervening in the mail ballot expansion lawsuit

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The ACLU of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday joined a case seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result … Continue reading →

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TDP files lawsuit to expand vote by mail

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

All right, then. Following fruitless negotiations over how to proceed with the upcoming primary runoff elections, Texas Democrats are looking to the courts to push for an expansion of voting by mail in the state. In a lawsuit filed in … Continue reading →

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Abbott delays primary runoffs

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So this was originally going to be a post about what various groups have been advocating for the primary runoffs. And then Greg Abbott went and pushed the runoffs back to July without addressing any of the other concerns that … Continue reading →

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Moving the May elections

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another possible method for coping with coronavirus. As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued a proclamation that will allow municipalities to postpone their upcoming May 2 elections until November. The move comes … Continue reading →

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Abbott addresses vote by mail possibilities

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He’s thinking about it. Gov. Greg Abbott acknowledged on Tuesday that he has the authority to postpone May 26 runoff elections or conduct them exclusively via mail-in ballots in response to the coronavirus. “Everything’s on the table,” Abbott told reporters … Continue reading →

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All mail ballots for the primary runoffs are being discussed

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. Texas is not making any moves to delay the May 26 primary runoff as of now, even as other states have opted to postpone elections. But election officials have had preliminary conversations about the potential … Continue reading →

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Dallas County needs a recount

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole discovered her office did not count about 10% of the ballots that voters cast on Super Tuesday. She is now asking a court to let her conduct a manual recount of the … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I wasn’t expecting an interesting race here, at least not going into the filing season, but we have one. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett is familiar with elections, appearing on the ballot five times in the last six … Continue reading →

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We should get full delegate results on Primary Day

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas counties have started seeing updates to the state’s election reporting system that will allow them to break out the vote totals needed to determine how many delegates are won by presidential contenders on Super Tuesday. The refinements to … Continue reading →

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Will we get full Presidential primary results from Texas on primary night?

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. As their counterparts in Iowa reel from a disastrously slow election returns process, Texas Democrats raised the prospect Wednesday that a change in the way Texas reports election results could delay the final tally of delegates won by presidential … Continue reading →

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