Tag Archives: voter suppression

On to the next mail ballot problem

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the people who managed to fill out the mail ballot application form correctly have failed to fill in the newly-required voter ID information on the ballot and have to get that fixed or have their ballot tossed. … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Scary story: . From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: “@TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges.” — Austin Statesman … Continue reading →

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Chris Hollins to run for Mayor

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Chris Hollins, the former Harris County elections chief who pushed measures aimed at expanding ballot access during the November 2020 election, announced Monday that he’s running for Houston mayor in 2023. “The challenges that we’re facing as Houstonians are … Continue reading →

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No one should have to put up with this level of crappy service

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the plan. Make people give up and walk away. [Pam] Gaskin and her husband, Michael, were denied ballots twice this month over procedural mishaps — and if she were any less determined to vote, it may have stayed that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

This is what voter suppression looks like

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. A Harris County man fears new voting laws may prevent him from voting by absentee ballot for the first time in his lifetime. Kenneth Thompson, 95, has been checking his mail daily … Continue reading →

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Three very early primary thoughts

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

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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Vote No and take the dough

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s as Republican as insurrection and hydroxychloroquine. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, last year left little doubt why she was voting against a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure, calling it nothing more than a “socialist plan full of crushing taxes and … Continue reading →

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Huffman wins District G election

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

No runoff needed. Mary Nan Huffman, an attorney for the Houston Police Officers’ Union, has won a special election to become the next District G representative on City Council, according to the unofficial returns. With all voting centers reporting Tuesday … Continue reading →

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The story of the paper shortage and the voter registration forms, in two tweets

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

One: . New: League of Women Voters of Texas has sent a letter to the Texas SOS threatening to sue the state unless they are provided with more copies of new voter registration forms. They say SOS is in violation … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the absentee ballot fiasco to improve

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things are working as planned. Signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in September, the voting law known as Senate Bill 1 contained an array of new restrictions on the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections. Among … Continue reading →

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District G special election final early turnout

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to start this post with some numbers, to provide context. Election Mail Early E-Day Total Mail% Early% ========================================================== May09 Dist H 647 1,259 2,280 4,186 33.9% 45.5% May18 Dist K 1,737 1,867 1,531 5,135 41.2% 70.2% Jan22 Dist … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sure, let’s blame the supply chain for voter registration problems

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have a simple solution for this, if anyone wants to hear it. The Texas Secretary of State’s office is having more trouble than usual getting enough voter registration cards to groups who help Texans register to vote. Sam Taylor, … Continue reading →

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Nobody is voting by mail in the District G special election

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the early voting report through Saturday for the District G special election. A total of 1,608 ballots have been cast in the first six days, of which 1,569 have been in person and thirty-nine (39) have been by mail. … Continue reading →

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

Lots of mail ballot applications are being rejected now

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a feature, not a bug. Hundreds of Texans seeking to vote by mail in the upcoming March primary elections are seeing their applications for ballots rejected by local election offices trying to comply with stricter voting rules enacted … Continue reading →

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Preliminary injunction sought against mail ballot restrictions

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and the Harris County Attorney’s Office moved for a preliminary injunction in Longoria v. Paxton, their challenge … Continue reading →

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Come watch Ken Paxton light your tax dollars on fire

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, Theranos would have delivered a greater return on investment than this. Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has been one of former President Donald Trump’s most reliable allies in spreading the myth of widespread voter fraud, particularly in … Continue reading →

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Crystal Mason using SB1 to try to overturn her illegal voting conviction

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. It would be one small good thing to come out of that otherwise harmful law. Crystal Mason, the Tarrant County woman whose illegal voting conviction has garnered national attention, is asking for a Texas appeals court to … Continue reading →

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Now is the autumn of our discontent

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody likes anything right now. Texas voters have a net disapproval for how state leaders have handled the reliability of the electricity grid, abortion and property taxes, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. In an October poll … Continue reading →

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Justice Department sues Texas over the voter suppression law

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Specifically, they are challenging a couple of specific provisions of the law. The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday sued Texas over its new voting law, expanding its effort to challenge Republican-backed measures passed in state legislatures. The lawsuit, brought by … Continue reading →

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NAACP tells athletes to steer clear of Texas

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At least someone is willing to take a stand. The NAACP is urging professional athletes who are free agents to boycott Texas over recent restrictive voting and abortion laws as well as policies stopping local governments from enacting coronavirus containment … Continue reading →

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November 2021 final early voting totals

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A busy final day, and a significant uptick in early votes over 2017. Friday was the last day to vote early in the 2021 school board and state constitutional amendment elections with early numbers showing an uptick in turnout in … Continue reading →

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The Hollywood (mostly non-) response to SB8

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. In May 2021, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act. It’s the latest, and most contested, challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court decision made in Roe v. Wade, which legalized … Continue reading →

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The Senate returns to its usual crap

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What an absolute disaster our state’s upper chamber is. The Texas Senate began work Monday on two Republican voting bills that have uncertain futures — one raising criminal penalties for illegal voting and another that got a recent boost from … Continue reading →

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One more lawsuit against Texas’ voter suppression law

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From Mi Familia Vota: Non-profit civic engagement organization Mi Familia Vota, along with individual voters, filed suit today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio seeking to block a new voter suppression … Continue reading →

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It’s not too late to pass a voting rights bill

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Look, we have one queued up. Senate Democrats are close to an agreement on updated voting rights legislation that can get the support of all 50 Democratic-voting senators, three Democratic aides familiar with negotiations said. The For the People Act … Continue reading →

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Three more lawsuits filed against the voter suppression law

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a law now, and the legal machines are humming to do something about it. Though delayed by Democratic quorum breaks, Texas has officially joined the slate of Republican states that have enacted new voting restrictions following the 2020 election. … Continue reading →

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The silence of the businesses

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What if they passed a law that effectively nullified Roe v Wade and no one reacted? And by “no one”, I mean the businesses that had previously stood up for abortion rights in 2019 when multiple state legislatures were trying … Continue reading →

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First two lawsuits filed against the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

No time wasted. The top elections official in Harris County and a host of organizations that serve Texans of color and Texans with disabilities have fired the opening salvos in what’s expected to be an extensive legal battle over Texas’ … Continue reading →

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Sine die’d

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Special session 2.0 is over. And what a lousy thing it was. The Texas Legislature adjourned its second special session Thursday evening, ending a nearly 30-day stretch that was called to pass a GOP elections bill after House Democrats carried … Continue reading →

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Now we look to see what happens with Greg Abbott’s approval ratings

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The first data point is bad for him. Which means it’s good for the rest of us. Gov. Greg Abbott had the lowest approval rating since February 2016 and his highest disapproval numbers during his tenure as governor, The Texas … Continue reading →

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Final passage of the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s all for now, we’ll see you in court for what will likely be a frustrating and unsatisfying denouement. A wave of changes to Texas elections, including new voting restrictions, are headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Three months after … Continue reading →

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It doesn’t matter what the polls say about the voter suppression bill

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another poll to demonstrate why. A new survey from Rice University underscores the deepening partisan chasm over provisions in the controversial GOP priority elections bill. For example, 46 percent of Harris County Republicans polled who participated in the county’s … Continue reading →

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It’s fine

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Some things never change. The Texas House Democrats who bolted for roughly six weeks to stop the Legislature from passing new laws would have racked up about $20,000 each in fines under a rule change proposed to stop such quorum … Continue reading →

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Voter suppression bill passes the House

Posted on August 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was always to be, it was just a matter of when. After months of drama and political resistance, the curtain has lowered on Democratic attempts to stave off a far-reaching rewrite of the state’s voting laws coveted by Republicans … Continue reading →

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