Tag Archives: Montgomery County

A followup on turnout and early voting preference

Just a couple of followup items for things we discussed during early voting, now that we have more complete data. The first was about how much of the vote would be cast early, and whether Republicans were waiting until Election … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

It’s what they do. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court reaffirmed in a new ruling on Wednesday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on … Continue reading

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A statewide comparison

I mentioned this yesterday, so here it is. I decided to look at the most recent early voting turnout numbers I could find for the counties, and then compare them to the final turnout numbers from the 2022 election. I’ll … Continue reading

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An erratic look at Day One turnout in a few counties

I’d love to give you a full-ish look at Day One primary turnout around the state, but that data is harder to find than you might think. The current SOS interface for this is clunky and incomplete. You can be … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

I’m not quite sure how to interpret this. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public … Continue reading

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The Pauline Road Fire

This is a little close for comfort. Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough declared a local state of disaster as a 2,000-acre wildfire in Sam Houston National Forest prompted over 900 home evacuations and school closures. The disaster declaration comes as … Continue reading

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Bald eagles

I don’t know why it had never occurred to me before, but there are numerous bald eagles in the greater Houston area, if you are of a mind to try to spot one in the wild. The bald eagle has … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: President 2024

I know you’ve been waiting for this, and now here it is, the 2024 precinct data for Harris County. We’ll start at the top, with the Presidential race. Dist Trump Harris Lib Grn ========================================= CD02 101,141 73,399 1,112 1,027 CD07 … Continue reading

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

A brief list of things I’ll be watching for today

In no particular order… 1. I don’t expect Democrats to win statewide in Texas. It would be great, it would do a world of good, but I’d be setting myself up for disappointment if I start there. What I want … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit hears drag ban appeal

Hope for the best as always. A Fifth Circuit panel grappled with questions of free speech and expression on Wednesday as it deliberated whether to uphold a lower court’s ruling that a Texas law dealing with sexually explicit performances and … Continue reading

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The 911 drones of Montgomery County

I’m kind of fascinated by this. Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders. Leaders of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office see the drone pilot program as a way … Continue reading

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I got those “Same old HGAC” blues

I don’t see this resolving any time soon. Nearly seven months after Houston missed a deadline to increase its role in regional planning, negotiations with the Houston-Galveston Area Council have stalled indefinitely, despite a mandate by Houston voters in last … Continue reading

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

Could Montgomery County replace CenterPoint?

We’ll see. I’m very skeptical, but I consider this to be an interesting test case of the proposition that CenterPoint’s service area could be reduced. After Beryl wiped out power in the [Creekside Park] neighborhood and the county, officials within … Continue reading

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Saturday Beryl roundup

We need better outage data. Meanwhile, the system that once fed CenterPoint’s map – which has quietly continued to report data under the hood of the utility’s website – became overwhelmed almost immediately after Beryl reached the greater Houston area. … Continue reading

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Good luck finding any info about those county appraisal board elections

As you know, I’ve written a bunch about the HCAD Board elections, including doing interviews with four of the candidates, so that you my readers and anyone else who stumbles across this page can hopefully know a little something about … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Nikki Haley’s best counties

Both Stace and I have noted the handful of counties in which President Biden underperformed in the primary election. That led me to wonder what the analogous situation was like on the Republican side. Where did Nikki Haley overperform her … Continue reading

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One more look at primary turnout

Here’s the Derek Ryan report on early voting in the primaries, which sent me off into a rabbit hole yesterday. Early voting is over. (Thank goodness! Early voting is always the busiest point of the entire two-year election cycle for … Continue reading

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

How are the city’s talks with H-GAC going?

Things seemed to be going reasonably well. The deadline had passed but no one seemed to fussed about it. Despite a deadline set by Houston voters for early January, the process to increase Houston’s role in regional planning will take … Continue reading

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We’re going to be electing what now?

I had no idea about this. It sure wasn’t covered in the runup to this past election. In a state known for too many elections, there’s another one coming to Texas’ 50 largest counties. This May, voters in those most … Continue reading

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A few thoughts about Tuesday turnout

We now know how many early votes were cast in Harris County for the November 2023 election. I’m now going to run through a few scenarios to show what the range of possibility is for overall final turnout. None of … Continue reading

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Drag ban officially ruled unconstitutional

Good. Texas cannot enforce a new law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal judge said Tuesday in declaring the legislation unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge David Hittner found Senate Bill 12 “impermissibly infringes on the First Amendment and chills … Continue reading

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Hervis Rogers again cleared of voting charge

What the hell, man? District Attorney Kim Ogg’s prosecutors quietly reviewed a voter fraud allegation against Hervis Rogers — the Houston parolee who waited six hours to vote in the February 2020 presidential primary — nearly a year after illegal … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Drag ban blocked

Good. U.S. District Judge David Hittner temporarily blocked a new state law Thursday from going into effect that would have criminalized sexually-oriented performances in front of children or effectively banned some public drag shows. LGBTQ+ groups sued the Texas attorney … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed against anti-drag bill

The lawsuit count increases again. LGBTQ+ Texans and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new state law that criminalizes some drag shows — and other performances — if they occur in front of children. Senate Bill 12, … Continue reading

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We do need more felony courts

This is a good start. County officials are considering adding new district courts and making more room for detainees in an effort to reduce to county’s court backlog and alleviate overcrowding at the Harris County Jail. During Commissioners Court on … Continue reading

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What I want from the next HCDP Chair

As you know, the Harris County Democratic Party will soon have a new Chair. And as you know, I am a Democratic precinct chair, which means I’m one of the several hundred people that will vote on who that is. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pushing the panic button

This feels like security theater to me, but it’s what passes for progress these days. All school districts in Montgomery County will soon be using panic alert technology during emergencies, including an active shooter situation, a security measure Texas education … Continue reading

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Charges dropped against Hervis Rogers

Good, but this whole thing was an enraging travesty and in no way makes things right. Voter fraud charges against Hervis Rogers, who garnered widespread attention for waiting hours in line to vote at a Houston polling location during the … 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

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

Early voting for the May 7 elections begins tomorrow

We all have at least one election to vote in, so get ready to get out there. On May 7, Texas voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, as well as … Continue reading

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

When is an emergency no longer an emergency?

I don’t know, but not yet. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo still has emergency powers to handle COVID, after a proposal to end her authority failed at commissioners’ court this week. The proposal, by Precinct Four Commissioner Jack Cagle, failed … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Abbott’s weak spots

Is this a thing? As dominating as Gov. Greg Abbott’s GOP primary victory on Tuesday looked at first blush, a closer look at the results shows a nagging problem within his own party that could ultimately cost him in his … 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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