Tag Archives: voter registration

So where do we stand with handing over voter info to the Trump commission?

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN asks the question. Have state officials turned over Texas voter information to the federal government? In short, not yet. A lawsuit by the Texas NAACP and the Texas League of Women Voters has halted the state’s release of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Framing the 2018 question

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story asks the question “what might it take for a Democrat to win statewide in Texas in 2018, then never actually engages it. At the five-top table in the corner at Russell’s Bakery, a northwest Austin restaurant and … Continue reading →

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SOS halted from handing over voter info

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A Texas district judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos from handing voter information to President Donald Trump’s voter fraud investigation commission. The order, which came out Tuesday, adds Texas to a … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over giving voter data to bogus Trump commission

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this last week. The League of Women Voters of Texas and the Texas NAACP said Thursday they have sued Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos over plans to release voter information to President Donald Trump’s election commission. Texas … Continue reading →

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ACLU seeks information about state’s compliance with Trump election commission

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Today the ACLU of Texas filed an open records request with the Texas Secretary of State seeking documentation related to the State’s compliance with the federal Election Integrity Commission, which had asked states to submit voters’ full … Continue reading →

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Was the Harris County election system hacked?

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Wouldn’t you like to know? Despite widespread alarm over the breadth of Russian cyber attacks on state and local election systems last year, including revelations of Dallas County being targeted, Harris County officials are refusing to say whether hackers similarly … Continue reading →

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Not many states are honoring that “give us your voter data” request

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear it. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have refused to provide certain types of voter information to the Trump administration’s election integrity commission, according to a CNN inquiry to all 50 states. State leaders and voting … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas will turn over some voter info to Trump vote “fraud” commission

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Texas will hand over personal information of the state’s more than 15 million voters to President Donald Trump’s commission that is looking into voter fraud. Secretary of State Rolando Pablos said his … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Maybe we should be a little more concerned about election security?

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Just a thought. Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported. … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Nonprofit VOTE report on voter turnout

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For your perusal. NATIONAL TURNOUT Voter turnout exceeded 2012 at a level consistent with the last three presidential elections. 60.2% of the nation’s 231 million eligible voters cast ballots, according to ballots counted and certified by state election boards, compared … Continue reading →

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Progressives in East Texas

Posted on April 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, they exist, and they are coming out of the woodwork these days. “It was remarkable,” says Lee Hancock, a Tyler resident of over 20 years who formerly covered East Texas for the Dallas Morning News. Hancock is now a … Continue reading →

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Some Texas voting rights lawsuit updates

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a busy week for litigation related to voting rights issues in Texas. Here are updates to some cases, all of which happened this past week. From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has … Continue reading →

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Latino turnout was up in 2016

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the numbers say. Nearly 30 percent more Texas Latinos went to the polls in 2016 than in 2012, reducing the participation gap with other Texas voters and signaling to some observers that elections will become increasingly competitive in … Continue reading →

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AG’s office sanctioned in voter registration lawsuit

Posted on February 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They were warned. A federal judge has ordered sanctions against the state of Texas for blowing past deadlines and ignoring a court order to hand over thousands of pages of documents in a lawsuit challenging its voter registration practices. Texas … Continue reading →

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State fails to respond to voter registration lawsuit

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on a different voting rights lawsuit from last year. Civil rights lawyers suing Texas over its voter registration practices are asking a federal judge to sanction the state for allegedly blowing past deadlines and ignoring a court … Continue reading →

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Booker T still running for Mayor

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

He says he’s serious. We’ll see. On Tuesday, [Booker T. Huffman] sat down with KHOU 11 News to tell us how he plans to court voters in this new year, nearly three years before Election Day. “I want the people … Continue reading →

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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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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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It’s bill-filing season

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. Today is the first day of early filing in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate may begin filing the bills that will be discussed when the legislature convenes in January 10, 2017. So … Continue reading →

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How turnout happens

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

If there are a lot of new voters turning out in Harris County this year, the Texas Organizing Project will be the reason why for a lot of them. The untapped power of the Latino electorate is one of the … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day One: Hope you didn’t mind waiting on line

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people were out there with you. After more than 18 months of intensive election coverage, early voting kicked off in Harris County on Monday with long lines at some polling locations. As polls closed at 6 p.m., more … Continue reading →

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The state of the polls

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just trying to get a handle on the numbers, with the idea of establishing some kind of guide for what to expect in the Presidential race in Texas. Bear with me. The RCP average for the two-way Trump/Clinton race … Continue reading →

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Statewide registrations top 15 million

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. Texas has a record-breaking 15 million people registered to vote ahead of the November election, the Secretary of State’s office announced Thursday. Texas has 15,015,700 voters registered according to a preliminary estimate — over 777,000 more than … Continue reading →

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Record registration numbers for Harris County

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. As registration closed, Harris County’s voter roster had grown by more than 6 percent since 2014, the steepest increase in 16 years. More than 323,890 new names have been added, bringing the county voter roll to more than 2.2 … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Harris County Tax Assessor race

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s deja vu all over again. Republican Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan once again faces a challenge from Democrat Ann Harris Bennett, a rematch from four years ago for an office that oversees billions of dollars in property tax … Continue reading →

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Registration versus turnout

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey throws a bit of cold water on the surge in voter registrations. Turnout isn’t nearly as volatile as registration. Over the past 10 presidential elections in Texas, the percentage of Texas adults registered to vote has gone as … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Taco the vote

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Now you’re talking. MI FAMILIA VOTA is accustomed to registering voters in unusual places, such as the food court at the UH Student Center where we caught up with Maria Villenas last month. Villenas is Houston’s civic engagement lead for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Voter registration way up statewide

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a lot. Nearly 15 million people are now registered to vote in Texas, a state record. Texas currently has more than 14.8 million voters registered — over 1 million more than were registered in the 2012 presidential election, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Endorsement watch: A bit of a surprise

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Ann Harris Bennett for Harris County Tax Assessor. When Mike Sullivan first ran for Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector, he promised that he would: “Bring the office into the 21st century by embracing new technology.” By Sullivan’s standard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Texas begins its voter ID education outreach

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For what it’s worth. Texas on Wednesday kicked off a voter education campaign ahead of the November elections amid heightened scrutiny of the state’s voter ID law. Under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and minority rights groups, … Continue reading →

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Another Voting Rights Act violation alleged

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Friday: Today, a coalition of 10 groups sent a letter to Carlos Casco, Secretary of State of Texas, requesting that his office take immediate steps to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1985 (VRA) and the Texas … Continue reading →

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It’s not crazy to think that a downballot Democrat could win statewide this year

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that headline in a minute. I’ve got some reading to sort through first. We’ll start with the most pessimistic, or perhaps the least blue-sky, story of how things are likely to go. Arizona. Georgia. Utah. Indiana. Is … Continue reading →

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Voter registration numbers keep increasing

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Always good news, though it’s hard to say anything definitive. County elections officials across Texas are reporting a spike in registered voters this election cycle, with one county now exceeding one million registered voters for the first time ever. Earlier … Continue reading →

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Pokemon Go get votes

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is a smart idea. Lazaros Sanchez, 25, often ventures to the Capitol on his lunch break. “There’s Pokémon all over the place,” he observed late Thursday morning after catching a Pokémon called Eevee. Now politicians are jumping on the … Continue reading →

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