Tag Archives: voter registration

Two Loving County 2022 elections overturned

Wow. State District Judge David Rogers ruled that 10 Loving County voters did not have enough connection to the area to legally vote there. As a result, two local November 2022 elections must be redone because the number of ineligible … Continue reading

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Time for another chat about voter registration and turnout

Let’s do it. Texas Democrats came away from Beto O’Rourke’s surprisingly narrow 2018 defeat to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz with a simple plan: register to vote the millions of nonvoting Texans that demographics suggest lean Democrat and electoral victories will … 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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November 2023 Final EV totals: Records successfully broken

We had a big last day in early voting on Friday, as you can see below: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 29,859 164,104 193,963 2019 15,304 137,460 152,764 2023 14,925 224,400 239,325 The final EV totals from 2015 are … Continue reading

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November 2023 Day Eight EV totals: You can’t out-nerd me

This Chron story about early voting through Sunday made me grind my teeth. One week in, early voting turnout has surpassed the levels seen in the last two Houston mayoral elections — but not overwhelmingly so — perhaps a surprise … Continue reading

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November 2023 Day Seven EV totals: My one crazy theory

We are officially one week into early voting for the November 2023 election. Here’s how it’s been going in Harris County so far: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 21,141 61,008 82,149 2019 6,799 55,937 62,736 2023 9,284 91,676 100,960 … Continue reading

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Spotlight on the Harris County Clerk

But first, a few words about early voting so far. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth reports that voters have cast more than 54.4K in-person ballots during the first four days of Early Voting for the November 7 Joint General & … Continue reading

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Ann Harris Bennett not running for re-election

We will elect a new Tax Assessor-Collector next year. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett, a second-term Democrat, announced last week she will not seek re-election in 2024. She will continue to lead Harris County’s voter registration process through … Continue reading

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UH-Hobby Center poll: Whitmire 34, Jackson Lee 31

Same pollster as before, nearly the same result. There has been almost no movement in Houston’s mayoral race over the last three months, with state Sen. John Whitmire and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee still firmly entrenched atop the crowded … Continue reading

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A Loving County update

The country’s smallest county has the biggest election contest lawsuits. Most people can tell you where they live. But here in the least-populated county in the United States, “Where is your home?” can be a trick question laced with dark … Continue reading

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The young activists of today

Keep track of these names, or better yet get to know them. Olivia Julianna typed “#johnnyboywhitmire” into TikTok’s search bar. To her delight, her five videos critiquing Texas state senator and Houston mayoral hopeful John Whitmire had garnered a combined … Continue reading

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A brief word about voter registration in Houston

First, some important news: Houston residents have one month left to register to vote in November’s City Hall elections. Residents can visit various Harris County government offices, post offices, libraries or state agencies to fill out and submit a completed … Continue reading

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UH-Hobby Center poll: Whitmire 34, Jackson Lee 32

I have plenty to say about this. State Sen. John Whitmire and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee would be neck-and-neck for first place if the Houston mayor’s race were held today, but Whitmire would sprint ahead in a potential runoff, … Continue reading

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Farewell, ERIC

Into the unknown… The Texas secretary of state submitted its exit notice Thursday to a national coalition that is one of the best tools to combat voter fraud, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Votebeat. The withdrawal from the … Continue reading

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What might come after ERIC

An interesting report from TPM. The Alan Vera Memorial Act both forces the state to leave ERIC, and also to find a replacement vendor — one that can do what ERIC does with a start-up cost of $100,000 or less, … Continue reading

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A tale of two elections bills

The good news. Texas lawmakers have voted to reverse an expensive state law requiring election officials to replace all their current vote-counting equipment with technology that doesn’t exist. An unprecedented mandate the Legislature passed in 2021, without fully realizing its … Continue reading

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There’s nothing like ERIC

Be careful what you seek to destroy, Republicans. With some Texas Republicans pushing the state to abandon one its best tools for preventing voter fraud — a coalition of states that share voting roll data to weed out duplicate and … Continue reading

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Founder of that voter roll maintenance program that election denialists hate has stepped down

I’m sure this will calm everyone down and restore the faith everyone once had in this program. Right? David Becker, an election law advocate who helped create the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), is vacating his position on its board … Continue reading

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The latest obsession of election denialist crackpots

You may want to sit down before you read this. In virtual meetings taking place over a year, right-wing activists and Republican legislators have stoked concern over a multistate coalition that Texas and more than 30 other states use to … Continue reading

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A very early thought about turnout in the 2023 Houston election

Before I begin, please note that all of this involves a lot of back-of-the-envelope math and more than a few assumptions made along the way. The number of registered voters in Harris County, and thus in Houston, will certainly change … Continue reading

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It always comes down to fluoride

I swear, it’s at the root of most election conspiracy fantasies. Laura Pressley and three other people huddled inside a Fredericksburg courtroom Monday, bowing their heads, closing their eyes, holding hands, and beginning to pray in hushed voices. “In Jesus’ … Continue reading

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Final November 2022 EV totals: Catching up

First, some slightly outdated numbers from the Chron. Fewer Harris County voters cast ballots during this year’s early voting period than in the 2020 and 2018 elections, according to unofficial voter counts released after polls closed on Friday night. From … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Ten EV totals: Two to go

This is the data from Wednesday. It came in a little later than usual. Since yesterday was the vote-till-10PM day, I thought I’d provide this update now, and will give the final EV totals on Sunday. Final EV totals from … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Nine EV Totals: Still lagging

Nine days down, three to go: Final EV totals from 2018 are here and from 2014 are here. The Day Nine totals for 2022 are here. Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2014 60,400 191,432 251,832 2018 80,279 557,264 637,543 2022 … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Seven EV totals: On to Week 2

Fresh from Sunday night: Final EV totals from 2018 are here and from 2014 are here. The Day Seven totals for 2022 are here. Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2014 57,546 137,137 194,683 2018 77,347 429,009 506,356 2022 44,163 354,100 … Continue reading

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How long has it been since the Fifth Circuit upheld a voter suppression law?

However long it’s been, they’re back at it. A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a 2021 Texas law that set new residency requirements for voter registration, including one that civil rights groups alleged essentially blocked college students from signing … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Five EV totals: A closer look at mail ballots

The numbers are what they are. Nearly half as many people have so far voted by mail in Harris County as in 2018 during the same period, state data show. About 31,000 voters submitted mail-in ballots by the end of … Continue reading

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We hit a new peak in voter registrations

It’s good to see, whatever it “means”. Texas now has almost 17.7 million voters — 1.9 million more than four years ago, when Gov. Greg Abbott won re-election. New voter registration totals from the Texas Division of Elections show the … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Three EV totals: A lot like Day Two

Sorry, the days are long and my mind is full and I don’t have anything interesting to say. I will at some point. For now, this is what we get. Final EV totals from 2018 are here and from 2014 … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day Two EV totals: Just the facts

I’m just going to get into it, I don’t have anything to add to the numbers. Final EV totals from 2018 are here and from 2014 are here. The Day Two totals for 2022 are here. Year Mail Early Total … Continue reading

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November 2022 Day One EV totals: The in person experience

Here’s your Chron story about Day One of early voting. More than 60,000 registered voters Harris County decided Monday they couldn’t wait any longer to cast a ballot for their choices in the 2022 midterm election. Monday was the first … Continue reading

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I think you know the root cause of the problem, John

I was fascinated by this Texas Monthly feature on Secretary of State John Scott, who is being pushed to reckon with the insane and dangerous levels of election denial and anti-democratic activism. I’m pretty sure he gets it, he just … Continue reading

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At least one local voter purge effort has been thwarted

For now, at least. Like flies to garbage, though, you know they’ll be back for more. The Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office received a flood of affidavits this summer challenging the eligibility of thousands of registered voters throughout the county, … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit does its thing with appeal of voter purge case

Get out the rubber stamp. A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas does not need to release details about a list of 11,737 registered voters whom the state has identified as potential noncitizens. The U.S. Court of Appeals for … Continue reading

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