Tag Archives: Election 2016

Precinct analysis: None of the above

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We have been told that this was a year where many people were unhappy with the two main choices they had for President. We looked at Presidential numbers in Harris County before, and now we’re going to look again, at … Continue reading →

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Another non-Trump elector

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if this is becoming a thing, but it is interesting. I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election, people have asked … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

California is the new Texas

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Or will be, as far as litigating against the federal government goes. Gov. Jerry Brown has tabbed Rep. Xavier Becerra to serve as California’s interim attorney general, selecting the Los Angeles Democrat to fill a vacancy opened by the imminent … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Bennett v Sullivan

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ann Harris Bennett was the only countywide Democratic candidate to be trailing on Election Day as the early voting totals were posted, but as the night went on she cut into the deficit and finally took the lead around 10 … Continue reading →

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Lane Lewis to step down as HCDP Chair

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: It has been 5 years to the month since you first elected me to be your Party Chair. Over the last 5 years, our social media presence grew and enabled us to deliver our message to thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Precinct analysis: Ryan v Leitner

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan was the only non-judicial incumbent elected in November. Here’s how his race looked. Dist Leitner Ryan Leitner% Ryan% ========================================== CD02 158,149 113,363 58.25% 41.75% CD07 135,129 116,091 53.79% 46.21% CD09 25,714 106,728 19.42% 80.58% CD10 … Continue reading →

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One HD46 hopeful calls on Rep. Dukes to resign now

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: This morning, Chito Vela called on current State Representative Dawnna Dukes to immediately resign her position as State Representative for Texas House District 46 instead of waiting until January 10, as she previously announced. If Rep. Dukes … Continue reading →

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The thing you need to know about the guy behind the “three million illegal votes” claim

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a known liar and grifter. When President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Sunday — without evidence — that “millions” of people voted illegally in the race for the White House, he invited a wrath of condemnation for again stoking doubts about … Continue reading →

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

Time once again to discuss Latino political participation

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s jump right in. The long wait continues for Houston and Harris County residents eager for a steep uptick in elected Latino representation. Hispanic residents last year were 42 percent of the county population, up from 23 percent in 1990, … Continue reading →

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Anderson maintains lead after recount

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s over. After a recount, state Rep. Rodney Anderson, R-Grand Prairie, is still the apparent winner in his re-election battle against Democrat Terry Meza. It was not immediately clear what the exact official outcome of the recount was, but the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Gonzalez v Hickman

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ed Gonzalez scored a solid win for Sheriff, knocking out incumbent Ron Hickman to win the office back for Democrats. Let’s break it down. Dist Hickman Gonzalez Hickman% Gonzalez% ============================================= CD02 162,915 111,689 59.33% 40.67% CD07 139,292 113,853 55.02% 44.98% … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

New Sheriff not interested in defending current bail policies

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. After defeating Sheriff Ron Hickman in the election this month, Sheriff-elect Ed Gonzalez is already sticking his nose in Hickman’s official business — mainly, the lawsuit filed against him. Hickman, along with the county, all the county judges and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Re-Endorsement watch: Sung in the special

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates their choice of Anne Sung for the HISD VII special election runoff. Anne Sung will bring a wealth of educational experience to this position, representing a district with boundaries encompassing a broad swath of near-southwest to near-northwest … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Ogg v Anderson

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Kim Ogg had the second highest vote total in Harris County this year. Let’s see how that looked at a more granular level. Dist Anderson Ogg Anderson% Ogg% ========================================== CD02 156,027 117,810 56.98% 43.02% CD07 135,065 118,837 53.20% 46.80% CD09 … Continue reading →

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Dropping out of Electoral College

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have some respect for this. A Texas Republican elector is resigning over the election of Donald Trump, saying he cannot “in good conscience” vote for the incoming president. The elector, Art Sisneros of Dayton, detailed his decision in a … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Precinct analysis: District courts

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Today we will look at the Harris County-specific judicial races, by which I mean the district courts plus two County Court benches. I’m going to begin with something a little different, which is a look at the distribution of how … Continue reading →

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Two more lawsuit updates

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The ban on the transgender bathroom rule remains in place pending appeals. Continued lack of access in public schools to bathrooms matching transgender persons’ gender identity won’t cause them irreparable harm, a Texas federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Reed … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who’s in to succeed Rep. Dawnna Dukes?

Posted on November 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are three confirmed candidates already to succeed Rep. Dawnna Dukes when she steps down next month. Despite announcing her plan six weeks earlier to resign instead of serving another term, state Rep. Dawnna Dukes handily won re-election earlier this … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Federal court rules there is such a thing as a too-partisan gerrymander

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. In a potentially transformative decision that could hobble partisan gerrymandering and restore a degree of fairness to many legislative races, a divided federal court held on Monday that Wisconsin’s state assembly maps are unconstitutional. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

HISD special election runoff will be December 10

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t believe I’ve seen a news story about this. The runoff election for the top two candidates to fill the unexpired term of outgoing HISD District VII Trustee Harvin Moore has been set for Dec. 10. Candidates competing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Recount in HD105

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Still not decided yet. The tight Texas House District 105 race between Republican state Rep. Rodney Anderson and Democratic challenger Terry Meza is headed for a recount. Meza trails Anderson by 69 votes, according to the latest Dallas County elections … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State courts

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We return to our tour of the precinct data with a look at the statewide judicial races. These tend to be interesting mostly as proxies for base partisan support, but there are variations that reflect qualities about the candidates. That’s … Continue reading →

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Uber wants back in Austin

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s how they get back that’s the question. The ride-hailing company Uber may return to the state’s capital despite leaving Austin in May after a bruising fight with the city over regulation of the industry, according to Trevor Theunissen, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

So now what for voter ID?

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to say how much prospects have changed now that Donald Trump gets to appoint the ninth Supreme Court justice, but it’s fair to say that thing haven’t improved for the plaintiffs. Five years ago, Texas passed one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

From the “Don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” department

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

People are signing up for health insurance plans while they still can. For years the backers of the Affordable Care Act have fretted over how best to stimulate insurance enrollment on the exchanges so the law could work as designed. … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sustaining the Harris County Democrats’ success

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

All things considered, I feel reasonably optimistic about Democratic prospects in Harris County going forward, but I felt that way in 2008 as well, so I certainly understand the inclination to be cautious. Democrats swept Harris County last Tuesday in … Continue reading →

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City reaches deal with Uber

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Sylvester Turner today announced a comprehensive strategy to streamline the City’s vehicle-for-hire licensing process to ensure that Uber remains in Houston and that Houstonians and visitors have as many transportation options as possible during the upcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What do our elected officials think about the plan to kill off Medicare?

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when this was a major campaign issue? With all the other things we’ve discussed so far today, I wanted to return to one critical one. It’s not about mights or maybes or fears of what’s to come. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Precinct analysis: The RRC and the Libertarian moment

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Back to precinct analysis, and the race that I featured in my post from yesterday, the Railroad Commissioner race. Here are the numbers: Dist Christian Yarbrough Miller Salinas =========================================== CD02 152,751 97,235 18,346 6,835 CD07 130,384 96,652 20,510 6,537 CD09 … Continue reading →

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As long as we’re talking about improving our voting machines

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Then this is what we should be talking about. [Travis] County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir called Rice University computer science professor Dan Wallach, who has been poking holes in voting-machine security for years. He’s testified before Congress on the subject. Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A theory about third parties

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get to that theory, have you ever wondered about the people who vote straight ticket Libertarian or Green in Harris County? I got to wondering about them, because that’s the sort of thing that I think about at … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Hillary in Harris County

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get started with the precinct data, shall we? Here’s a Chron story from the day after the election about how things looked overall in the county. The country’s most populous swing county turned a shade bluer Tuesday, when Hillary … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights trial begins

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Mike Snyder provides an update. [This] week in a Houston federal courtroom, [the Voting Rights Act] will again be invoked in a challenge to an allegedly discriminatory council system, this time in a suburban city that’s undergone a … Continue reading →

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Statewide review: 2016 was like 2008, but not in a good way

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so I’ll just come out and say it: Despite the excitement about increases in voter registration and heavy early voting turnout. statewide Democratic candidates outside of Hillary Clinton generally did not do … Continue reading →

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