Monthly Archives: October 2020

November 2020 Early Voting Day Eighteen: Records were broken

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paxton completes his housecleaning

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Only loyalists left. The last of the seven top aides who accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of criminal violations has resigned from the agency. Ryan Bangert, who served in one of the agency’s highest posts as deputy first assistant … 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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Univision: Trump 49, Biden 46

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Always time for one more poll, apparently. The race for the White House in Texas is so close in the Nov 3 presidential election that it’s beginning to look uncharacteristically like a swing state, according to a new Univision News … Continue reading →

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One last, desperate attempt to kill drive-though voting

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Here comes a charter amendment effort

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m neutral about this, at least for now. The Houston Professional Firefighters Association and a coalition of other groups are launching a referendum campaign to give city council more power at City Hall. The fire union and other groups announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We need an official Speaker candidate tracker

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re up to five now, and we’re likely not done yet. State Reps. Trent Ashby of Lufkin, Chris Paddie of Marshall and John Cyrier of Lockhart join two Democrats in seeking the gavel: Senfronia Thompson of Houston and Trey Martinez … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Sixteen: All through the night

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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DFP: Biden 49, Trump 48

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, from Twitter: . Biden leads 54 to 45 among those that have already voted. For more information on early vote statistics (and for live results on election night) visit https://2020.dataforprogress.org. — Data For Progress (@DataProgress) 10:50 AM – … Continue reading →

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Will Greg Abbott ever talk about COVID-19 again?

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Signs point to No. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott knocked on doors in the Fort Worth suburbs, fist-bumping with police officers and warning residents that Democrats want to raise their taxes. That night, he opened Game 2 of the World … Continue reading →

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More investment from Bloomberg

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, better late than never. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is funding a last-minute ad blitz on behalf of Joe Biden in Texas and Ohio, providing a boost to the former vice president as polls and a flutter of late campaign … Continue reading →

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So what’s up with that National Guard story?

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hell, I don’t know. Governors can deploy troops for numerous reasons, from natural disasters to border security. But observers found it rare to the point of extraordinary when the Texas National Guard revealed that Gov. Greg Abbott has directed troops … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of October 26

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance urges you to vote if you haven’t already as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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November 2020 Early Voting Day Fifteen: Now with evening hours

Posted on October 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NYT/Siena: Trump 47, Biden 43

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Possibly the last poll of interest for the cycle. President Trump maintains a narrow lead in Texas, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll on Monday, as he faces a rebellion in the state’s once overwhelmingly Republican suburbs but … Continue reading →

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SCOTX upholds Abbott’s limit on mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked. In what’s expected to be the final ruling on the matter, the Texas Supreme Court has upheld Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting Texas counties to only one drop-off location for voters to hand deliver … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bloomberg drops some money in the RRC race

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has made a late donation of $2.6 million to the Democratic nominee for railroad commissioner, Chrysta Castañeda, providing a massive fundraising boost in a race for the oil and … Continue reading →

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No school on Election Day

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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UH-Hobby: Trump 50, Biden 45

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a poll result that stands in contrast to the others we have seen lately. President Donald Trump is leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by more than five points among likely voters in Texas, according to a poll released … Continue reading →

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Try not to get sick before Election Day

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If you suffer a late illness that prevents you from getting to a polling place, you will need a doctor’s note to get an absentee ballot. Texas voters who get sick shortly before Election Day and can’t go to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TMF files for Speaker

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now it’s a race. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer announced Monday that he is running for Texas House speaker, becoming the second Democrat in the lower chamber to launch a bid for the gavel. Martinez Fischer, from San Antonio, joins … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here comes Kamala

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a little fuel to the “Texas is in play” fire. Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate and the California U.S. senator, will be visiting Texas on Friday, according to an email Biden’s campaign sent to Democratic lawmakers in Texas … Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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UT-Tyler/DMN: Biden 48, Trump 45

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The late run of good polls in Texas for Joe Biden continues. Former Vice President Joe Biden has regained a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in Texas, after wooing more independents and Hispanics, according to a poll released Sunday … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Not everyone will be sending in their mail ballot

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Don’t park in a bike lane

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s illegal now, and you will get a citation. Houston city council on Wednesday made it illegal to park in or otherwise block the city’s expanding network of bike lanes, a long-sought change by cyclists fed up with dodging cars … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

November 2020 Early Voting Day Thirteen: In the home stretch

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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Weekend link dump for October 25

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“A Disturbing Twinkie That Has, So Far, Defied Science”. I could not possibly care less about the future job prospects of current Trump staffers. Let them struggle to find honest work, maybe it will help them understand their prior decisions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments

SCOTX reinstates Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff location limit

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They can move fast when they want to, that’s for sure. Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial order to limit Texas counties to one mail-ballot drop-off site was allowed to remain in effect Saturday by the Texas Supreme Court. The court blocked … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rep. Senfronia Thompson files for Speaker

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One hat in the ring, who knows how many to go. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, filed Friday to run for speaker of the Texas House, making her … Continue reading →

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Please don’t screw up SD19 this time

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s hoping. If elected to the Texas Senate, Roland Gutierrez promises not to end his tenure in federal prison. During a September phone call, the six-term state House rep assured me: “I’ve led my life as a responsible person; my … Continue reading →

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Bill Kelly: Voting Matters

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

(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 →

Posted in Election 2020, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

November 2020 Early Voting Day Twelve: Second Saturday

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments