Tag Archives: Harris County Clerk

The filings I’m still looking for

Today is Filing Deadline Day. By the end of today, we’ll know who is and isn’t running for what. While we wait for that, let’s review the filings that have not yet happened, to see what mysteries may remain. Congress: … Continue reading

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July 2021 campaign finance reports: Harris County

PREVIOUSLY: Congress There will be plenty of crucial races in Harris County in 2022. Because of the Democratic sweep in 2018, all of the countywide offices are held by Dems, meaning this is the first non-Presidential year in which Democrats … Continue reading

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SOS Hughs resigns

In retrospect, I should have seen this coming. Texas Secretary of State Ruth Ruggero Hughs announced Friday she will step down from her post as the state’s top elections official, less than two years into her term. The decision comes … Continue reading

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A bit of business pushback against voter suppression

It’s a start, but much more is needed. A group of 72 Black business leaders are calling on companies to publicly oppose a series of bills being advanced by Republicans in at least 43 states that could dramatically curb access … Continue reading

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The Republican attack on Harris County voting

It’s straight up retaliation for Harris County getting positive national attention for going out of its way to make it easier to vote in 2020. Harris County made a big push to expand mail-in and early voting during the 2020 … Continue reading

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Republicans want to ban voting at night

Give me a break. Texas Republicans have made it clear that voter suppression is a legislative priority, and one of their biggest targets involves Harris County. State Rep. Jared Patterson filed a bill last week that would restrict voting hours at … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: County Clerk 2020 and 2018

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 We weren’t supposed to … Continue reading

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Do we still have to worry about the Elections Administrator’s office?

I’m a little hesitant to bring this up, but… This year, Harris County began the process of consolidating the two offices that have historically handled elections — the county clerk and the tax assessor-collector’s office — under one roof. Isabel … Continue reading

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The Harris County Election Security Task Force

I hadn’t realized that this was a thing, but it was and I’m glad it was. A task force formed to ensure the security of the November election in Texas’ biggest county has found no evidence of wrongdoing after finishing … Continue reading

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Ken Paxton’s attempted jihad against Harris County

Wow. Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to get the Trump administration to revoke millions in federal COVID relief funding that Harris County budgeted for expanding mail-in voting earlier this year, newly revealed records show. Paxton wrote in a May 21 … Continue reading

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Commissioners Court rejects Paxton allegation about Elections Administrator

Straight to the point. The Democrats on Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday rejected an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in which he said they illegally created an independent elections office and hired an administrator. The move invites … Continue reading

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Interview with Isabel Longoria

Following on to my interview with Chris Hollins, today I have for you a conversation with our brand new and first-ever Election Administrator in Harris County, Isabel Longoria. Longoria is a former legislative staffer who ran for City Council in … Continue reading

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Paxton has a tantrum about the Harris County Election Administrator

Someone is going to have to help me understand this, because I’m clearly missing something. Harris County failed to follow the Texas Election Code when it created an independent election administration office, rendering the office and the appointment of Isabel … Continue reading

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Interview with Chris Hollins

To put a bow on this long, strange trip that was the 2020 election season, I have a couple of interviews to bring you with key players from the election. The first is with Chris Hollins, the now-former Harris County … Continue reading

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I remain pessimistic about the chances of good voting bills passing

This Trib story suggests that with Republicans doing well in the high turnout 2020 election, and with the emergency measures that were implemented to expand voting access, the odds of getting a bill passed to make some forms of voting … Continue reading

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Our nanny state and vote by mail applications

Sen. Paul Bettencourt purses his lips and wags his finger and is very disappointed in your county government. Republican state lawmakers have filed bills to codify the Texas Supreme Court decision that blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications … Continue reading

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The poll workers’ stories

Some good news. With a record 2,431,457 registered voters on the rolls in Harris County, there were several reasons poll workers expected a huge turnout and they got it, but not on Election Day. Two judges working two of the … Continue reading

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A few words about election security

Lisa Gray talks to my friend Dan Wallach about everybody’s favorite subject. If I’m aiming to steal an election, what’s the best way to go about it? Are mail-in ballots the easiest? If your goal is to steal an election, … Continue reading

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Federal judge denies Hotze petition

Hopefully, this will be the end of this particular nonsense. A federal judge Monday rejected a request by a conservative activist and three Republican candidates to toss out nearly 127,000 votes cast at drive-thru polling sites in Texas’ most populous, … Continue reading

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Today is Election Day

It almost feels unreal, doesn’t it? Like some people have been saying while on line at voting locations, we’ve been waiting four whole years for this. Now it’s here, Texas is considered a swing state, the Lege is in play, … Continue reading

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A few thoughts about Election 2020 before Tuesday

Just a brain dump, to get this all out there before we find out what happened. Let’s start with this: After the conclusion of three weeks of early voting, 9.7 million Texans have cast ballots, crushing previous early voting totals … Continue reading

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SCOTX rejects Hotze petition to throw out drive through votes

One piece of good news. A legal cloud hanging over nearly 127,000 votes already cast in Harris County was at least temporarily lifted Sunday when the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by several conservative Republican activists and candidates to … Continue reading

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Hotze and Woodfill take their fight against drive-thru voting to federal court

Just another quiet Saturday… . Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Eighteen: Records were broken

I know, I skipped Day Seventeen, but since the daily EV totals came in at a more manageable hour last night (since early voting once again ceased at 7 PM), I was able to get the latest totals in. So … Continue reading

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Meet your new Election Administrator

Solid choice. The Harris County Elections Commission on Friday appointed Isabel Longoria as the county’s first election administrator, who will assume the voter registration and election management duties that currently fall to the county clerk and tax assessor-collector. Longoria, a … Continue reading

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One last, desperate attempt to kill drive-though voting

These guys really suck. Not much more can be said. A new challenge to Harris County’s drive-thru voting sites, filed by two GOP candidates and a Republican member of the Texas House, asks the state Supreme Court to void ballots … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Sixteen: All through the night

This post is scheduled to publish before 5 AM today. When that happens, voting will still be happening in Harris County. In Harris County this year, residents can vote where the Rockets or Texans play, from the comfort or their … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Fifteen: Now with evening hours

In case you haven’t heard, Texas is in play. It’s six days from a presidential election, and the anchor of the Republican Electoral College coalition—Texas—is a toss-up. That is not just us being goofballs and throwing around dramatic words. “Toss-up” … Continue reading

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No school on Election Day

For HISD, anyway. Houston ISD will not hold virtual or in-person classes on Election Day, district officials said late Tuesday, a reversal of earlier plans to provide online-only instruction because more than 100 schools will be used as polling places. … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Fourteen: Where will we end up?

Because we like starting with tweets: . Welp. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/texas/ — Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) 5:58 PM – 25 October 2020 That was from Sunday, after the UT-Tyler poll was factored in. As you may know, there have been two polls released … Continue reading

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Not everyone will be sending in their mail ballot

I get this. Samina Mirza had read enough in the news about U.S. Postal Service delays that she decided there was no way she’d trust the mail to deliver her ballot to Harris County election officials on time. The 70-year-old … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Thirteen: In the home stretch

Twitter time: . According to the Texas Secretary of State, 7,193,582 Texans had voted as of Saturday, a turnout of 42.43% of registered voters. Texas turnout for *all* of 2016 (including Election Day) was 8,969,226, so the state is already … Continue reading

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Bill Kelly: Voting Matters

(Note: The following is a guest post that was submitted to me. I occasionally solicit guest posts, and also occasionally accept them from people I trust.) The national headlines have highlighted the increased turnout among Harris County voters, and rightfully … Continue reading

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Twelve: Second Saturday

Where we are. Harris County surpassed 1 million ballots cast Friday, setting an early voting record with seven days remaining, in spite of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and a flurry of lawsuits over the management of the election. The county … Continue reading

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