Tag Archives: Clifford Tatum

Our one page ballot

Good news. Harris County voters and election workers can look forward to one major improvement in the upcoming March primaries: the county’s lengthy ballot now fits on one piece of paper, rather than two. The change is due to a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harris County elections update

No news is good news. By all accounts, Harris County pulled off a smooth local election last week under its newly reconfigured election administration. But officials didn’t have time to revel in it before a judge took them to task … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SOS releases 2022 Harris County election audit

They sure know how to time these things. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s office on Thursday released preliminary findings from its audit of Harris County’s November 2022 election, the latest analysis of an election that has been the subject … Continue reading

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Harris County election duties return to County Clerk and Tax Assessor

Welp. Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum will not be involved in Harris County elections operations after Friday, as he will not be hired by the county clerk’s or tax assessor-collector’s offices as part of a massive reorganization. Harris County’s elections operations … Continue reading

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SCOTx denies stay request in elections administrator lawsuit

Welp. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Harris County’s request for an emergency order that would have allowed the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office to run the upcoming November election by temporarily delaying the implementation of a new state … Continue reading

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

Judge temporarily blocks law abolishing Harris County Elections Administrator

A good first step, but we’re far from finished here. The Texas Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday appealed the decision of a judge to temporarily block a new law passed by Republicans to abolish Harris County’s elections chief position. The … Continue reading

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

Harris County files its first lawsuit over an election bill

Another early start, for a clear reason in this case. Harris County is headed to court to challenge a new state law that abolishes its elections office, County Attorney Christian Menefee announced Thursday. The county’s lawsuit aims to stop Senate Bill 1750 from going into … Continue reading

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Harris County to sue over those two new election laws

I wish I felt more optimistic about this. Harris County will file a lawsuit challenging two Republican-backed election bills headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, County Attorney Christian Menefee announced Wednesday. At issue are two measures that apply only to Harris County, including one that abolishes … Continue reading

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Lege kneecaps Harris County elections

I have three things to say about this. The Texas House of Representatives voted Tuesday to force Harris County to eliminate its chief election official and to give state officials more authority over elections there. On a 81–62 party line … Continue reading

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How the May election is being run in Harris County

Of interest. Fresh off last November’s midterm elections, Harris County Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum has implemented operational upgrades to the county’s system and vote collection process for presiding judges working at polling locations. These changes have been in full swing … Continue reading

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The case of the no-evidence lawsuit

The lack of evidence in the Harris County election lawsuits is so glaring, I don’t know how we’re talking about anything else. In the weeks following Harris County’s November election, 22 Republican candidates who lost their races filed lawsuits challenging the … Continue reading

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There were fewer voting sites with paper issues than we thought

That’s my takeaway from this. On Election Day last year, an unusual problem occurred around 6 p.m. — the polling place at El Lago City Hall ran out of paper ballots. Republican presiding judge Chris Russo, the election worker running … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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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Tell me you have no evidence of voter suppression without telling me you have no evidence of voter suppression

Hilarious. Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has launched a website in hopes of gathering evidence of voter disenfranchisement in Harris County’s November 2022 election. The initiative follows the Gallery Furniture owner’s lawsuit filed last week accusing the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office of refusing … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The furniture guy files a lawsuit

Spare me. Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Elections Administrator’s office accusing it of refusing to turn over public records related to the November 2022 election, adding to an array of GOP litigation aimed … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Yep, still no voter fraud found

So says the official 2020 election audit. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was neither widespread voter fraud nor other serious issues in Texas’ 2020 elections, according to an audit of four of Texas’ largest counties released Monday … Continue reading

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If Greg Abbott demands an investigation, Greg Abbott will get an investigation

This is all still so dumb. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is launching an investigation into “alleged irregularities” during last week’s election after receiving a referral from the Texas Secretary of State’s office. Ogg sent a letter to Texas Department … Continue reading

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This is all so dumb

I’m going to quote a large swath of this Reform Austin story because it sums up what has been happening the past couple of days better than I could. Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into Harris County’s election … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The “less is more” option for improving Election Day

This deserves serious consideration. Widespread problems with Harris County elections likely would be relieved if officials reduced the number of polling locations in favor of fewer sites that operate more efficiently, a Rice University researcher and some recent reports say. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There were still ballots being counted yesterday

I think they’re done now? It’s hard to say for sure from the story. With more than 1.1 million ballots cast, Harris County on Thursday still was counting ballots from Tuesday’s election. The county filed a request for an extension … Continue reading

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Omnibus 2022 election results post

It’s already midnight as I start writing this. I’m just going to do the highlights with the best information I have at this time. – Nationally, Dems are doing pretty well, all things considered. As of this writing, Dems had … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The counting process

I don’t think I had seen this explained before. Harris County residents likely will have a long night waiting for election returns Nov. 8, according to county Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum. It takes around one minute for the county’s equipment to read a digital … Continue reading

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SOS inserts itself

It’s the damn fraudit again. The Texas secretary of state’s office on Tuesday warned Harris County officials it still is missing information about the chain of custody for certain election materials in its ongoing audit of the 2020 election. In … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Our big mail ballot test is now underway

Sure hope we do better this time. Harris County officials on Monday urged residents to follow the correct mail voting guidance as the end-of-the-month deadline to apply for mail-in ballots for the 2022 midterm elections nears. This year’s primary elections … Continue reading

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Meet Clifford Tatum

Harris County’s new Elections Administrator has a chat with the Chron’s Jen Rice about his new job and the fact that early voting starts in less than seven weeks. Why did you start working in elections and why do you … Continue reading

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This is why elections administrators are under attack

What a lousy thing to do right now. Harris County’s new elections administrator has not taken office yet, but the Harris County GOP is already trying to shape his reputation. On Wednesday, State Senator Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, tweeted an image … Continue reading

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Some ideas for improving elections in Harris County

Put it on the new guy’s to do list. When Harris County’s new elections administrator starts the job next month, he will have less than three months to get ready before polls open on Oct. 24 for early voting in … Continue reading

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We have a new Election Administrator

From the inbox: Harris County’s election commission today named Clifford D. Tatum the county’s next Elections Administrator. He is scheduled to take over from interim EA, Beth Stevens. Mr. Tatum is the chief information security officer for the DC Board … Continue reading

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