Tag Archives: The Lege

Speaker’s race? What Speaker’s race?

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that one of the three most powerful political offices in the state is on the ballot this November, even if it’s largely invisible to us. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson fielded a question last week that’s been on … Continue reading →

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Bexar County poll: Biden 52, Trump 35

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the San Antonio Report: The new Bexar Facts/KSAT/San Antonio Report poll showed former Vice President Joe Biden with a sizable lead over President Donald Trump among registered Bexar County voters. Poll results released Tuesday, two weeks before early voting … Continue reading →

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SCOTX hears mail ballot case arguments

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we are. Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins’ plan to send mail ballot applications to all 2.4 million registered voters in the county far exceeds what the state Election Code allows, the attorney general’s office argued before the Texas Supreme … Continue reading →

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Paxton opposes Hotze mandamus to curb early voting

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Reform Austin: In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that the GOP group suing Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent him from extending early voting for the November election has no standing … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Carol and Borris

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is another easy call. When Carol Alvarado was elected to represent state Senate District 6 in a special election in 2018, she already had an impressive record under her belt. After serving on Houston City Council and as the … Continue reading →

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The people responded to the call for poll workers

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In Harris County, bigtime. Muhammed Nasrullah was ready to call it quits. After working as an election judge in every Harris County contest since 2004, the COVID-19 pandemic discouraged the 67-year-old retired mechanical engineer from signing up again. He is … Continue reading →

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Hey, look, it’s online voter registration!

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And they said it couldn’t be done. When Jarrod Stringer updated his driver’s license address in 2014, the Texas Department of Public Safety website asked if he wanted to register to vote. He clicked yes and thought he was registered. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three more for the Lege

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In numerical order… Rep. Jon Rosenthal, HD135: As a political novice Jon E. Rosenthal pulled off one of the biggest upsets of 2018 when he knocked off 12-term Republican Rep. Gary Elkins to win the state House District 135 seat … Continue reading →

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The HCDE makeover

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One more world to conquer in Harris County. The future looked bleak for Texas’ last remaining county education department in early 2019. After years of state-level efforts to abolish the Harris County Department of Education, a new majority of trustees … Continue reading →

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Hotze and crew appeal to SCOTX to stop the extra week of early voting

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is facing a lawsuit over his extension of early voting for the November election from prominent members of his own party — including state party Chairman Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller … Continue reading →

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Let’s not overstate the no-straight-ticket effect

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

With all due respect, this is some ado about not very much. With straight-ticket voting no longer an option in 2020, the Harris County Clerk estimates the average resident will spend a significantly longer time in the voting booth this … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The Susan Collins of Texas

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Three things in life are certain: Death, taxes, and certain Chron endorsements. The voters in state House District 134 — a swing district that covers all or parts of River Oaks, Bellaire and Meyerland and includes the Texas Medical Center … Continue reading →

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Texas Central gets federal approvals

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A big step completed. Federal officials have issued final approvals to backers of a Houston-to-Dallas high-speed rail line, clearing the way for construction of the proposed line, in a move almost certain to face challenges from opponents. Texas Central Railroad, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: No Briscoe

Posted on September 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron follows the basic principle that bad acts should not be rewarded, and bad actors do not belong in positions of trust and power. In his two terms representing House District 128, Rep. Briscoe Cain has quickly acquired a … Continue reading →

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A matter of timing

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the stated reason why SCOTX overturned the earlier decision that booted three Green Party candidates off the ballot. The Texas Supreme Court in a new opinion Friday explained its decision to reinstate to the November ballot Green Party candidates … Continue reading →

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Voter registration during a pandemic is hard

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Especially when online voter registration is not an option. In the first seven months of 2020, new registrations in Texas were down nearly 24% compared with that same time frame in 2016, according to numbers from the nonprofit Center for … Continue reading →

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HPD adopts cite-and-release

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Took them long enough. The Houston Police Department plans to join Harris County’s cite-and-release program, fulfilling advocates’ long-running request to implement the policy they say keeps low-level offenders out of jail and saves law enforcement resources for more serious threats. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three to get started

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But first, why do endorsements, anyway? If newspapers are objective, why do you recommend candidates? Newspapers don’t endorse candidates. Editorial boards do. The editorial board is separate from the newsroom. It is made up of opinion journalists with wide-ranging expertise … Continue reading →

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The Green Party owes Ken Paxton a thank-you note

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He did them a solid, that’s for sure. In the legal fight to exclude minor party candidates from the November ballot, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton took a flexible view of time and deadlines. After the Texas GOP filed suit … Continue reading →

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Harris County preps to print mail ballots

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How many they have to print remains an open question at this time. For the first time, Harris County will pay a third-party vendor to print mail ballots, a move intended to help the county clerk handle what is expected … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over gun sign law

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. A church in Clear Lake and a coffeeshop in the Heights are challenging a Texas law that dictates how no-gun signs are displayed. Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church and Antidote Coffee allege the signs private properties need … Continue reading →

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SCOTX puts Greens back on the ballot

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is my head spinning. The Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. Last month, a state appeals court sided with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

SCOTX extends stay in Harris County vote by mail case

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I was set to be super outraged about this, but as you will see it’s not quite as bad as it first looked. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications to all registered … Continue reading →

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Cite and release for Houston

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston is preparing a cite-and-release policy that could let people accused of certain misdemeanors off with a ticket instead of an arrest, perhaps the city’s most significant bid at criminal justice reform since the killing of George Floyd ignited … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Now we wait on SCOTX

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Shouldn’t have to wait too long to get a resolution to the “Harris County Clerk wanting to send out mail ballot applications to all registered voters” question. A day after a court ruled against him, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton … Continue reading →

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County Clerk can send his vote by mail applications

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A judge on Friday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to halt Harris County’s plan to send mail ballot applications to all 2.4 million registered voters. State District Judge R.K. Sandill denied Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction, stating … Continue reading →

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State appeals court rules (mostly) against Libertarians in filing fee lawsuit

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the story. It gets into the legal weeds, and I’m going to try my best to clear them out. A state appellate court this week upheld a 2019 law that extended a requirement that candidates pay a filing fee … Continue reading →

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Here comes Forward Majority

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. A national Democratic super PAC is pumping over $6 million in to the fight for the Texas House majority. The group, Forward Majority, plans to spend $6.2 million across 18 races that will likely determine who controls the lower … Continue reading →

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UT-Tyler/DMN: Trump 48, Biden 46

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s our first post-convention poll from an outfit that has polled the state at least twice so far this year. Texas remains a toss-up in the presidential race. But Democrat Joe Biden’s modest – and somewhat startling – lead over … Continue reading →

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Data for Progress: Biden 48, Trump 45

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: New polling data from Data For Progress shows Texas Democrats in a strong position to capture control of the Texas House of Representatives in the November general election. A late-August survey of likely Texas general election voters … Continue reading →

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Wait, there’s a Census going on?

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I smack my forehead so hard. Through a small notice tucked into the state’s business register, Texas appears to have acknowledged that the 2020 census count is going badly. With just a month of counting to go in the crucial … Continue reading →

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Will we have redistricting hearings?

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking great for it right now. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas Republicans have quietly halted plans to hold a series of public input hearings across more than 20 cities, slated to occur earlier this year, to … Continue reading →

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Why endorse Sarah Davis?

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good question. Planned Parenthood’s Texas political arm on Thursday endorsed state Rep. Sarah Davis, rebuffing abortion rights activists who had lobbied the group to deny political support for the Houston Republican. The efforts to deny Davis the endorsement … Continue reading →

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CD17 poll: Sessions 45, Kennedy 42

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another mind-blowing poll result, in a district that no one has seen as competitive. In a district where 56 percent of voters supported President Donald Trump in 2016, Democratic congressional candidate Rick Kennedy is in a strong position to challenge … Continue reading →

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