Monthly Archives: October 2020

Abbott’s order limiting mail ballot dropoff sites blocked again

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But that’s not the end of the story, so hang on. A Texas appellate court on Friday stepped in to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting counties to just one mail-ballot dropoff site, but Harris County officials said they will … Continue reading →

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Judge sends Paxton case back to Collin County

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Pending appeal, of course. A Harris County judge on Friday moved Attorney General Ken Paxton’s criminal case to Collin County, handing Paxton a major win by placing the case in his hometown, where legal experts say he’s more likely to … Continue reading →

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Abbott sloshes some money around the State House races

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not really a surprise. Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign is ratcheting up its down-ballot efforts in the final weeks before the November election, working to defend the Republican majority in the state House and to remind voters about the importance of … Continue reading →

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Overview of Harris County Sheriff’s race

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The explanation for why Sheriff Ed Gonzalez is a big favorite to be re-elected is quite simple, really. County veterans wondered if former Houston police officer-turned politician Ed Gonzalez would be up to the job of sheriff in 2016 after … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Eleven: We reach one million

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take a brief detour to Fort bend County. Fort Bend County voters continue to smash early-voting records — with a greater share of voters turning out so far than in populous Harris and Dallas counties, according to a news … Continue reading →

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Morning Consult: Biden 48, Trump 47

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The overview is here and there are some words that I’ll include shortly, but for the headline we’ll need this picture: I know it says “Tied” despite the “Biden 48, Trump 47” listing. My guess is that the exact numbers … 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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Time to check in on Ken Paxton again

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to know, in times of crisis, that there are friendly fake media outfits one can run to to deny all the allegations against you. When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton decided to break his silence about accusations by … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Ten: Closing in on 2016

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of tweets to get us started: . 1.3 million (25%) ofTX early voters so far did not vote in 2016. #txlege — Keir Murray (@houtopia) 2:40 PM – 21 October 2020 I talked about the likely percentage of … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Biden 47, Trump 47

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. In the home stretch of the 2020 presidential election campaign, former Vice President Joe Biden is in a tied race with President Donald Trump in the reliably red state of Texas, and he holds a single digit lead … 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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“On the cusp” of another COVID surge

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The numbers are already trending up. You know what that means. Cases of COVID-19 in parts of Texas surged to near catastrophic levels this summer as some hospitals were forced to put beds in hallways, intensive care units exceeded capacity … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of October 19

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance urges you to get out there and vote as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Nine: Starting to run out of clever subtitles

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And now, for something slightly different, Part One: This was hard for Jacob Monty. As a lifelong Republican, the 52-year old Houston attorney has been in the trenches with former President George W. Bush, never voted for a Democrat for … Continue reading →

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HISD needs a bond referendum

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Easier said than done, though. Houston ISD appeared to be on track in mid-February to put a bond election on the ballot this November, taking a critical step toward asking voters for the first time since 2012 to let it borrow money … Continue reading →

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DFP: Biden 47, Trump 46

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter: . Police cars revolving lightNew Poll – TX Police cars revolving light Biden 47 – Trump 46 Cornyn 44 – Hegar 41 https://filesforprogress.org/memos/2020-senate-project/week-5/toplines/tx.pdf — Data For Progress (@DataProgress) 8:21 PM – 18 October 2020 What’s interesting about this … Continue reading →

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Keep fighting, fellas

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Primal scream time. Two of Texas’ top Republicans took part [last] Saturday in a protest of Gov. Greg Abbott’s coronavirus restrictions outside the Governor’s Mansion, a striking display of intraparty defiance three days before early voting begins for a momentous … Continue reading →

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Back to the classroom for some

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope this goes well, but I remain worried. With the novel coronavirus still top of mind, HISD will welcome back an estimated 80,000-plus of its nearly 200,000 students to classrooms Monday, becoming the region’s final large district to … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Eight: Any idea what pattern we’ll follow?

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron provides five takeaways from early voting so far. Democrats appear to be doing well in Harris County, but don’t call it a wave yet. Turnout to date has been strong in precincts carried by Trump and Clinton in … 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 →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

District B runoff officially scheduled

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hooray! At long last, voters in the north Houston neighborhoods that make up City Council’s District B will get to select a new representative in December. Visiting state District Judge Grant Dorfman on Monday ordered the long-delayed runoff to be … Continue reading →

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“I opposed him in private before completely supporting him in public”

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Man, this guy is a weasel. And honestly, that’s insulting to weasels. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn acknowledged Friday that at times he has disagreed with President Trump on issues such as budget deficits and debt, tariffs and trade agreements and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

November 2020 Early Voting Day Seven: It’s Day One all over again, sort of

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a mid-day headline that needed some revision by the evening. Harris County is on pace to reach half of of 2016’s total voter turnout by Monday evening, the county clerk reported. By 11 a.m. Monday, the seventh day of … Continue reading →

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October 2020 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is it, the last quarterly finance report roundup for the cycle. It’s been quite the time, hasn’t it? Let’s do this and see where we are as voting continues. The January 2019 roundup is here, which closed out the … Continue reading →

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PPP: Cornyn 49, Hegar 46

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Last week PPP took a look at the Presidential race in Texas, and this week we checked in on the Senate race. MJ Hegar trails John Cornyn just 49-46, making up for the Republican lean of the state … Continue reading →

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Texas, the “We don’t want you to vote” state

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And by “We” I mean “Republicans”. In five states controlled by Republican governors and legislatures, new policies allow all voters to use COVID-19 as an excuse to mail in their ballots. In Iowa, the Republican secretary of state sent absentee ballot applications for … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Six: And now we start the “normal” early voting period

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to jump right into the data here. The Day Six daily EV totals are here. You can find the daily totals for 2008 and 2012 (and 2016 as well, but I’ve got a separate link for it) … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for October 18

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a Big Bang fight, and I am here for it. “A kidnap and murder plot targeted Gretchen Whitmer. It’s no coincidence she’s a woman.” Some giant shark news to brighten your day. Please enjoy this lovely profile of Mandy … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 14 Comments

November 2020 Early Voting Day Five: How not to look at the early voting totals

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Twitter on Friday: . Biden needs a rout in Harris County (#Houston) to have any chance of winning TX. We’ve had 3 days of record-shattering turnout and by tonight may have 500k votes. But so far, Biden probably isn’t … Continue reading →

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How hard it is to vote is a policy choice

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County tried to make it easier. The state GOP, various other Republican contingents, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and others fought that choice every step of the way. Much of the Democrats’ dream of turning Texas blue is pinned on … Continue reading →

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Still worried about the Census

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s this. The census came to an abrupt halt Thursday after a pandemic and a legal tug-of-war threw the massive survey into chaos. Officials around the country now fear they’ll lose their fair share of federal funding and political representation … Continue reading →

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The virtual marathon

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still not ready for things to be normal. The 2021 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will be virtual due to ongoing public health concerns with COVID-19. The 2021 Virtual Houston Marathon Running Events will be held … Continue reading →

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Don’t look now, but COVID numbers are ticking up again

Posted on October 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In the state as a whole. Texas reported more than 4,100 people hospitalized with the coronavirus on Wednesday, its largest total in six weeks and one that comes amid rising infections in El Paso and North Texas. Hospitalizations hit a … 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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