Tag Archives: Election 2004

2017 EV daily report: Day 8, and one more look at a way to guess turnout

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the numbers through Monday. Now that we are in the second week of early voting, when the hours each day are 7 to 7, these reports arrive in my inbox later in the evening. Here are the daily … Continue reading →

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As goes Tarrant

Posted on February 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib ponders the one big urban county that is not like the others. Among the state’s five biggest counties, Tarrant is the only one that hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential candidate in the past decade. The 2016 presidential election … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: None of the above

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We have been told that this was a year where many people were unhappy with the two main choices they had for President. We looked at Presidential numbers in Harris County before, and now we’re going to look again, at … Continue reading →

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Another non-Trump elector

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if this is becoming a thing, but it is interesting. I am a Republican presidential elector, one of the 538 people asked to choose officially the president of the United States. Since the election, people have asked … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Bennett v Sullivan

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ann Harris Bennett was the only countywide Democratic candidate to be trailing on Election Day as the early voting totals were posted, but as the night went on she cut into the deficit and finally took the lead around 10 … Continue reading →

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Recount in HD105

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Still not decided yet. The tight Texas House District 105 race between Republican state Rep. Rodney Anderson and Democratic challenger Terry Meza is headed for a recount. Meza trails Anderson by 69 votes, according to the latest Dallas County elections … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A theory about third parties

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get to that theory, have you ever wondered about the people who vote straight ticket Libertarian or Green in Harris County? I got to wondering about them, because that’s the sort of thing that I think about at … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day Twelve: Nearly a million

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your final daily EV report and your updated tracker spreadsheet. The final tally from Friday was 105,005 in person votes and 2,882 more mail ballots returned. That brings us to 882,580 people showing up at an early vote location, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wait, who supports paper ballots now?

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Following repeated allegations by Republican Donald Trump that the election may be rigged to ensure a win for Democrat Hillary Clinton, Texas lawmakers are actively considering ways to boost confidence in the … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day Four: Just the facts

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here is your Day 4 EV report, and here as always is the spreadsheet that tracks early voting in Presidential elections going back to 2004. Long story short, another record-breaking day, with about the same volume (just over 76,000 in … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day Three: The case for pessimism

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Dave Mann tells Texas Democrats to put those rose-tinted glasses away. On Monday, the Real Clear Politics site declared that Texas is up for grabs in the presidential election. The shift comes after a series of polls showing a tight … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day Two: How long can we keep this up?

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly crunches some numbers from Day One: Digging further into the numbers, it seems as though the long-whispered awakening of Texas Democrats happened, at the very least, on day one. GOP consultant Derek Ryan, who published a detailed report … 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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Lots of absentee ballots in Harris County this year

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart announced today that over 90,000 ballots have been mailed to voters who requested to vote by mail in the November 8, 2016 General and Special Elections. The number of ballots mailed is … Continue reading →

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Now let’s take on the revenue cap

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

With the pension issue settled, this can be the next big item on Mayor Turner’s to-do list. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to ask city voters next fall to do away with a decade-old cap on city revenues, but for now … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Endorsement watch: A Libertarian moment

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron thinks outside the box in endorsing for the Railroad Commission. Our editorial board interviews scores of candidates for political office every election year, but seldom do we find ourselves wholeheartedly endorsing a nominee from the Libertarian Party. Then … Continue reading →

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Independent candidate lawsuit update

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s already been a lawsuit filed by a wannabe independent candidate for President seeking to get on the ballot in Texas, but not by that guy you might have heard of. It’s still up in the air whether Evan McMullin, … 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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Evan McMullin to sue for ballot access in Texas

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know, that guy who recently turned up as the latest NeverTrump dreamboat? He wants on the ballot in Texas. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, an ex-CIA officer and congressional policy wonk who launched his campaign last week to offer … Continue reading →

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Still no indies

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that no matter who or what may be the flavor of the month, the deadline for filing as an independent candidate for President in Texas was last month. If an independent presidential candidate wanted to get on … Continue reading →

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No indies

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Not in Texas and not for President, anyway. [Last] Monday was the deadline for independent candidates for president to get on the ballot in Texas. Nobody showed up. The Texas Secretary of State’s office, which administers elections, closed its doors … Continue reading →

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Still debating the Trump effect in Texas

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This time with input from trained professionals. Republicans say it’s just wishful thinking, but Democrats are hoping that Trump’s controversial comments will make some GOP voters stay home in protest and boost the number of Democrats going to the polls … Continue reading →

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Once again with CD29

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the turnout. On a Gulfgate-area side street lined with union halls, Hillary Clinton’s Houston field office and U.S. Rep. Gene Green’s congressional re-election outfit sit mere doors apart, a coincidental marker of the anticipated link between their … Continue reading →

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Can Dems make progress in Collin County?

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It sure would be nice if they could. It’s no secret that Plano’s Prestonwood Baptist Church has long wielded tremendous political influence, often quietly blurring the local lines between church and state. But in the 2016 cycle, with the Republican … Continue reading →

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Reps. Otto and Marquez join the retirement list

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another committee chair bows out. After a decade in the Texas House and fresh off his first session as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, announced Tuesday that he is not planning to seek re-election. … Continue reading →

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Morrison’s challenge

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I often said last year that I wanted to get through the 2014 elections before worrying too much about the 2015 ones. I feel the same way this year, and thus don’t plan to spend much time writing about 2016 … Continue reading →

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We need to understand why our voters didn’t vote

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that Battleground Texas wasn’t pursuing a base turnout-increase model for the 2014 election, for reasons that have not yet been adequately explored. I’m mad about that, but I don’t want to get bogged down in that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

On BGTX, Wendy Davis, and the future

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a pretty busy Christmas break, as far as blog-worthy news has gone, so in order to preserve the small illusion that I’m taking a breather and recharging my batteries, I’m just going to give three quick thoughts … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Endorsement watch: Ogg for DA

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle endorses a change in thew Harris County DA’s office. Houston has changed since the hang ’em high days of Holmes’ tenure. Our region has grown more diverse, our mentality more mature. While some may look back with nostalgia, … Continue reading →

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Bell op-ed for eliminating the revenue cap

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. A decade ago, Houston voters restricted city property tax revenues to the combined rates of inflation and population increases. Like most arbitrary rules that politicians apply to math, this revenue cap sounds like a great idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Why revenue caps suck

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been expecting this. Despite a booming economy that is the envy of much of the nation, the city of Houston could face hundreds of layoffs and cuts in service next year as it runs headlong into a revenue cap … Continue reading →

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Fjetland files for Senate

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Democrats will have a contested primary for the right to run against Sen. John Cornyn next year. Michael Fjetland, a previous GOP House candidate, has filed as a Democrat to run for the Senate seat held by Texas Sen. … Continue reading →

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Still no injunction in voter registration lawsuit

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. A district judged erred by partially blocking the enforcement of new Texas voter registration laws while a lawsuit alleging that the laws suppress voting goes forward, a federal appeals court has ruled. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. … Continue reading →

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BGTX and Anglo women voters

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The San Antonio Current has a great story on what Battleground Texas is up to, and why more than just increasing turnout is needed to turn Texas blue. The Democrats can take Texas in 2016 if they can tap into … Continue reading →

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