Tag Archives: Cameron County

Boca Chica land swap allowed to proceed

I still dunno, man. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Monday to pursue an exchange that would give 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park in Cameron County to Elon Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft company. The state park land … Continue reading

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Initial thoughts on the 2024 primary

Some opening considerations as we peruse the final unofficial voting data. Before you read my words, go check out Stace, Campos, Reform Austin, and the Texas Signal. Here we go: – Final turnout in Harris County was 176,396 for Dems … Continue reading

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The Boca Chica land swap

I dunno, man. Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners are considering a land swap with SpaceX that would give Elon Musk’s space exploration company about 43 acres from Boca Chica State Park. In exchange for the land in Texas’ southernmost strip … Continue reading

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Another complaint filed over SpaceX launches in South Texas

Have at it. Several organizations have filed a new complaint about the environmental impacts of SpaceX Starship launches even as government agencies face criticism for delaying such launches for environmental reviews. Several environmental groups announced Dec. 15 that they had … Continue reading

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Tuberculosis

It’s making an unfortunate comeback. Before 2020, advances to eradicate TB, which is spread person to person through the air, were underway globally. It was considered by many public health experts to be a feasible goal, since tools are available to identify … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed against FAA over SpaceX launch and explosion

I can only imagine how Elno feels right now. Conservation groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration [last] Monday, challenging its approval of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk’s SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in South Texas without … Continue reading

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Lege targets Harris County election administrator

We knew something like this was coming. House and Senate bills filed by Republican lawmakers in response to Harris County’s mismanagement of its recent elections could give the Texas secretary of state the authority to step in, suspend county election … Continue reading

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Who audits the auditors?

A novel idea. Not sure it will get anywhere, but it does send a message. Harris County Commissioners Court, by a 3-2 partisan vote, agreed to explore legal options, including a possible lawsuit, to challenge the results of a random … Continue reading

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Fraudit 2.0

Here we go again. Harris County will be one of four Texas counties to undergo an audit of its upcoming November election results by the Texas secretary of state’s office. It will be the second election audit in two years … Continue reading

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There was definitely an improvement in mail ballot acceptance for the primary runoffs

The last time I looked, I was largely unable to find any news stories about mail ballots and their rejection rates for the May primary runoff elections, with the exception of one story about Bexar County and how they were … Continue reading

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So what’s going on in the CD34 special election?

We started with this. Early voting continues for the June 14 special election for CD34 open (Lean R) through June 10. Candidates for that special election were required to file pre-special election reports today (Thurs.) if they meet the reporting … Continue reading

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SCOTx hearing on state redistricting lawsuits

The state lawsuits over the “county line rule” in Cameron County and the Eckhardt/Gutierrez “decennial redistricting only in a regular session” contention had a hearing before the State Supreme Court over whether these suits can be heard in state district … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Beto’s range in the 2022 primaries

When you get 91.34% of the vote in an election, as Beto did in the Democratic primary for Governor, there’s usually not a whole lot of interesting data beneath the surface. But you never know until you look, so I … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Final 2022 primary vote totals from those counties of interest

At the end of early voting, I posted some totals from various counties around the state. I noted at the time it was an imprecise comparison since I included final 2018 turnout numbers as the comparison point for 2022 and … Continue reading

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2022 primary early voting statewide

Turnout information for early voting for all counties is available on the Secretary of State website. They used to only have this for the 30 most populous counties, which skewed things in a Democratic direction, but a law passed in … Continue reading

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2022 primary early voting, Day Eight : Time for the upswing

I still think it’s a little weird to have a day off from voting in the middle of early voting. Either tack on an extra day at one end or the other or modify the calendar to avoid the holiday. … Continue reading

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Three very early primary thoughts

1. After the exceedingly small number of mail ballots requested and cast in the District G special election, the primaries will be our next test of the SB1 effect on voting by mail. I will be interested to see if … Continue reading

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Supreme Court to hear whether state redistricting lawsuit can proceed

Here’s the update I’ve been waiting for. Not what I was hoping for, but it is what it is. The state’s bid to toss a legal challenge arguing last year’s GOP-led redistricting effort violated the Texas Constitution is headed to … Continue reading

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Supreme Court rejects mandamus over Commissioners Court redistricting

The primary will proceed as scheduled, but the issue could be revisited sometime after the 2022 election. The Texas Supreme Court rejected an effort by Republican commissioners and voters to block Harris County’s recent redistricting plan on Friday, suggesting another … Continue reading

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The state of the state redistricting lawsuits

A good update, and a reminder that not all of the action is in federal court. In two cases heard [December 14 and 15], a group of mostly Democratic, Hispanic lawmakers from both chambers challenged the legality of when and … Continue reading

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The botched “non-citizen” voter purge continues

At some point we need to recognize the fact that our Secretary of State’s office is completely, and maybe maliciously, inept at doing this. Texas’ last attempt to scour its voting rolls for noncitizens two years ago quickly devolved into … Continue reading

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Redistricting litigation update

Reform Austin shows that the state’s legal defense strategy against the various redistricting lawsuits is “You can’t sue us!” Because of the clear racial gerrymandering, multiple groups are launching legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act. The state has now … Continue reading

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A redistricting lawsuit twofer from MALC

One federal, one state. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus in the Texas House has opened a second front in the legal war over the state’s new political maps. The caucus on Wednesday turned to the state courts to challenge the … Continue reading

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The mask rebellion

Sweet, sweet music to the ears. The local mask rebellion, coupled with the fresh threat of legal action from President Joe Biden’s administration, poses the most serious challenge yet to [Gov. Greg] Abbott’s emergency powers, which he has wielded in … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: State House district changes by demography

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading

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ACLU warns counties to stay away from the Abbott wall

From the inbox: The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sent letters today to 34 counties informing top officials that implementing Gov. Greg Abbott’s unlawful plan to engage in immigration enforcement would violate the U.S. Constitution. The letters, sent to … Continue reading

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An alternate route to Medicaid expansion

I’m okay with this. Texas Democrats have tried for years to convince Republican state leaders to increase access to Medicaid. Now they think they have found a way to do it with or without their help. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett … Continue reading

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Starbase, Texas

If you read that title and you thought that Elon Musk must somehow be involved, you would be correct. Elon Musk is attempting to create a city in south Texas. He wants to incorporate Boca Chica Village, where his company … Continue reading

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SCOTUS rejects TDP petition on vote by mail

Back to the lower court, I think. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a Democratic bid to force universal vote-by-mail in Texas, leaving intact a state law that lets people cast no-excuse absentee ballots only if they are 65 or … Continue reading

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TDP asks SCOTUS to review age discrimination claim in mail voting

From the inbox: Today, the Texas Democratic Party and voters filed their final brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking its review of the case filed last Spring which challenged the constitutionality of Texas’s law that limits voting by mail, … Continue reading

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More early data from State Rep districts

From Derek Ryan on Twitter: . President Trump won House District 74, a Democrat-held district in West Texas along the border, with 53.1%. He also won House District 31, a Democrat-held district in South Texas with 56.2%. — Derek Ryan … Continue reading

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So what happened in the Latino counties?

Let’s go to the data: County Trump Clinton Trump Biden ============================================= Bexar 240,333 319,550 303,871 440,823 Cameron 29,472 59,402 48,834 63,732 Dimmit 974 2,173 1,384 2,264 El Paso 55,512 147,843 81,235 168,801 Frio 1,856 2,444 2,812 2,421 Hidalgo 48,642 118,809 … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit rejects age discrimination claims in vote by mail lawsuit

This is pretty much the end of the line, at least as far as the courts are concerned. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Texas can keep its strict eligibility rules for … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit hears arguments on vote by mail case

One more try before it’s too late to make a difference for this year. The Texas Democratic Party’s lawyer argued today before a federal appeals court that the state is unlawfully discriminating against the majority of the voting-age population by … Continue reading

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