Tag Archives: Wisconsin

County leaders defend Uplift Harris

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the passion and intensity in this response, but overall it does not leave me feeling optimistic about the outcome. Harris County leaders are defending their new guaranteed income program after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sued to … Continue reading →

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Houston vies for 2024 DNC

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It would be nice, but I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends. Houston is vying to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention held the summer before the next presidential election, in which Texas … Continue reading →

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State Bar complaint filed against Ted Cruz

Posted on May 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A group of lawyers want the State Bar of Texas to investigate Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for his “leading” role in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Lawyers with the 65 Project, an organization aiming to … Continue reading →

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Now we wait on SCOTUS

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas filed its reply to the defendants’ responses to its democracy–killing lawsuit, and, well, it’s something. This brings us the Texas AG Ken Paxton’s reply–or, rather, replies, as there are multiple filings, including a motion to enlarge … Continue reading →

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The states respond to Paxton

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait for SCOTUS. I sure hope they’re quick about it. Each of the four battleground states targeted by a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn President Donald Trump’s election defeat issued blistering briefs at the Supreme Court on Thursday, with … Continue reading →

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We still have to talk about Paxton’s ridiculous and anti-democratic lawsuit

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At least for one more day. President Donald Trump on Wednesday latched on to a longshot Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn a presidential election that handed the White House to Joe Biden. Legal experts say Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton sues other states to overturn their election results

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s as stupid and pernicious as it sounds. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing four battleground states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — whose election results handed the White House to President-elect Joe Biden. In the suit, he … Continue reading →

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It’s still not too late to prevent a big spike in COVID infections

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

But it will be soon. A rise in COVID-19 cases has health care officials and government leaders pleading with Houstonians: Act now to prevent, or at least minimize, a third wave of infections across Greater Houston. “This feels a lot … Continue reading →

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NBA agrees to offer its arenas as voting centers

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. “What was the plan?” was always the wrong question to ask of striking NBA players; what they wanted was to not play basketball, and they got it. But they used that time not playing to talk, to think and … Continue reading →

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Postal service update

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder, destroying the US Postal Service has real effects on real people. Delays in mail sorting and processing are leaving Houston-area businesses, brides and voters wary of the coming months. Whether it’s essential medication, ballots or important letters … Continue reading →

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Here’s the official order in the TDP vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Round One went to the plaintiffs. From there, who knows. A Texas state district judge on Friday issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts … Continue reading →

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No DNC for Houston

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. Democratic National Committee officials announced Monday that the party’s 2020 convention would take place in Milwaukee. The announcement is a setback for Houston, which was a final contender to host the convention. Miami was also on the short list. … Continue reading →

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2020 DNC update

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Houston remains in the running, but who knows how this will go. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is choosing among Houston, Miami and Milwaukee. In recent weeks, some Democrats have privately suggested Milwaukee would get the nod, and a … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS punts on non-Texas redistricting cases

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Magic 8 ballSCOTUS says Reply hazy, try again later in the two partisan gerrymandering cases before it. On Monday, the court punted two major political redistricting cases: Gill v. Whitford, a challenge to Wisconsin’s Republican gerrymander, and Benisek v. Lamone, a … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS takes up partisan gerrymandering

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So much coverage on this potentially ground-breaking and earth-shaking case. Here’s the Washington Post: Opponents of political gerrymandering had reason for optimism at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the likely swing vote, appearing more in … Continue reading →

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Paxton joins defense of Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is backing Wisconsin in a high-profile case asking the U.S. Supreme Court whether lawmakers can go too far when drawing political maps to advantage one party. Paxton, a Republican, filed an … Continue reading →

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Another look at redistricting in Texas

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in the spotlight right now. The odd shapes tell the story. A huge Republican majority in the Houston-area 2nd congressional district represented by Ted Poe curls around the region from Lake Houston, northeast of the city, makes a meandering, … Continue reading →

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No partisan gerrymandering claims (yet) in Texas

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has issued an order striking the expert report offered by the Texas Democratic Party in connection with its partisan gerrymandering claim. However, the court said that it would allow … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS takes on Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering case

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Monday’s big news. Partisan gerrymandering exists because the Supreme Court allows it to exist. Although such gerrymanders are a form a viewpoint discrimination, which violates the First Amendment, Republican appointees to the Supreme Court have been reluctant to even let … Continue reading →

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Wisconsin case undermines even the scaled back bathroom bill

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Special session or not, this could be a big deal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit likely just handed the Supreme Court a new case about a transgender student to consider. The Court’s opinion, issued Tuesday, eviscerates … Continue reading →

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Federal court rules there is such a thing as a too-partisan gerrymander

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. In a potentially transformative decision that could hobble partisan gerrymandering and restore a degree of fairness to many legislative races, a divided federal court held on Monday that Wisconsin’s state assembly maps are unconstitutional. The … Continue reading →

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Friday was a very good day for voting rights

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In North Carolina: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory is nothing short of a beat down. The court does not simply tear apart major provisions … Continue reading →

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A new way to attack gerrymandering

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Think Progress: America’s anti-gerrymandering law is an incoherent mess. Thirty years ago, in Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that a partisan gerrymander may be struck down as unconstitutional upon proof of “both intentional discrimination against an identifiable … Continue reading →

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Republican attorneys general file briefs in support of Texas’ voter ID law

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Birds of a feather. Fifteen Republican-controlled states are wading into the contentious court fight over Texas’ voter ID law, arguing in a legal brief that similar laws around the country have already been upheld by the courts. […] Ahead of … Continue reading →

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Hey, how about another lawsuit against Obamacare?

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Six states filed a new lawsuit Wednesday against the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act. The complaint that Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Louisiana, Indiana and Nebraska filed in the Northern District of Texas takes issue with the … Continue reading →

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Court strikes down Texas voter ID law

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Less than two weeks before the start of early voting, a federal judge ruled the state’s photo voter ID law unconstitutional late Thursday and ordered state officials to drop the new requirements. “The Court holds that SB 14 creates … Continue reading →

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Texas same sex marriage plaintiffs want the get oral arguments scheduled

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They would like to get on with their lives, if it’s not too much trouble to Greg Abbott and the Fifth Circuit. Austin lawyer Nicole Dimetman is pregnant and expects to give birth for the first time on March 15, … Continue reading →

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Louisiana breaks the streak

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One in every crowd, I guess. A federal judge [in New Orleans] upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, going against what had been a unanimous trend of federal court decisions striking down such bans since the Supreme … Continue reading →

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Lots of same sex marriage appeals about to happen

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Busy times in the federal appeals courts. Federal appeals courts soon will hear arguments in gay marriage fights from nine states, part of a slew of cases putting pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a final verdict. If … Continue reading →

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Two wins against voter ID

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news from Wisconsin. Trying to crack down on in-person voter fraud isn’t a strong enough justification for Wisconsin’s voter ID law, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, because voter impersonation virtually never occurs now and is unlikely to become a … Continue reading →

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On, Wisconsin

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the ACLU of Wisconsin: The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and the law firm of Mayer Brown filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of four same-sex couples who wish to marry in Wisconsin or are … Continue reading →

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A little Texas in Wisconsin

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Way to go! The weather in Wisconsin is cold this time of year — but the budget fight is only getting hotter. Following a walkout by the state Senate Democrats, depriving Republicans of the three-fifths majority needed to pass the … Continue reading →

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Let’s always elect our Senators

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, having seen what a farce the gubernatorial-selection process for replacing Senators has been this year, proposes to do something about it: The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it … Continue reading →

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