Tag Archives: Election 2020

How many undervotes would it take?

Posted on October 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This story about the race for County Clerk has broken me. [Stan] Stanart has finished in line with the Republican straight-ticket vote in each of his three elections, winning the clerk seat in 2010 with 53 percent of the vote … Continue reading →

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Chip Roy calls on Paxton to resign

Posted on October 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a former top aide to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, called on his former boss to resign from his post after top members of Paxton’s staff said the attorney general should be investigated for multiple … Continue reading →

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When Republicans fight

Posted on October 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Such a sight to see. Gov. Greg Abbott’s most exasperating allies sure chose an awkward time to act up. In the face of a momentous election, with an array of issues that includes the pandemic, the recession, climate change, racial … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sima Ladjevardian

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Texas CD02 has a fairly short history of being centered in Harris County. It was redrawn in the Tom DeLay re-redistricting of 2003 to stretch from the north end of the county to Beaumont in order to oust then-Rep. Nick … Continue reading →

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How not to be “ground zero” for voter suppression

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It starts with winning elections. Which would be easier to do if Republicans weren’t hell-bent on making it hard to vote, but then that’s why they do what they do. Fewer and fewer states are standing with Texas as it … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For (just a little) more diversity

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron says a few words about the need to diversify the Supreme Court, then mostly endorses the status quo. When talk turns to Texas’ highest civil court — as it must, given voters’ opportunity to select four of the … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed against Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff order

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Chuck Lindell on Twitter, on Saturday afternoon: We have a 2nd federal lawsuit against Gov. Abbott’s order limiting counties to 1 drop-off location for mail-in ballots, this one from the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans. Petition: https://democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2020/10/Straty-v.-Abbott.pdf Background: — … Continue reading →

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Two more data points about Latino voting preferences in Texas

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

On the one hand: On the eve of the first presidential debate of the 2020 electoral season, Univision News publishes its latest electoral polls: the National Latino Voter Poll, a survey that interviewed a representative sample of all Latino registered … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Abbott’s order to limit mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Voting rights advocates and civic groups have rushed to the courthouse in a bid to block Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Oct. 1 order allowing Texas counties no more than one drop-off location for voters casting absentee ballots, calling … Continue reading →

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It’s Julie Oliver week

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Julie Oliver, the Democratic candidate in CD25, is getting a fair bit of attention this week. First, there’s this Statesman story about what her path to victory looks like. On a recent Zoom fundraiser with Beto O’Rourke, Democratic congressional candidate … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Menefee and more

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Christian Menefee for Harris County Attorney. Christian Menefee was still celebrating his victory in the Democratic primary over longtime incumbent Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan when the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. Lockdowns and social distancing left the … Continue reading →

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Speaker’s race? What Speaker’s race?

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that one of the three most powerful political offices in the state is on the ballot this November, even if it’s largely invisible to us. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson fielded a question last week that’s been on … Continue reading →

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You can track your mail ballot in Harris County

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Harris County residents now are able to track the status of their mail ballots through a new system launched by County Clerk Christopher Hollins Wednesday. For the first time, a voter can see when their ballot is mailed to … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A Congressional four-pack

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Going once again in numerical order… Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, CD07. Two years after her first-ever run for public office resulted in the defeat of a nine-term Republican incumbent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher faces re-election with a solid record of … Continue reading →

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Bexar County poll: Biden 52, Trump 35

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the San Antonio Report: The new Bexar Facts/KSAT/San Antonio Report poll showed former Vice President Joe Biden with a sizable lead over President Donald Trump among registered Bexar County voters. Poll results released Tuesday, two weeks before early voting … Continue reading →

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SCOTX hears mail ballot case arguments

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we are. Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins’ plan to send mail ballot applications to all 2.4 million registered voters in the county far exceeds what the state Election Code allows, the attorney general’s office argued before the Texas Supreme … Continue reading →

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And straight ticket voting is off again

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, but boy are we all getting whiplash over here. Texas voters will not be able to select every candidate of a major political party with one punch, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, upholding a 2017 state law … Continue reading →

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Luther and Springer advance to SD30 runoff

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

By the way, that special election in SD30 to succeed Pat Fallon was on Tuesday, and the two presumed leading contenders were basically tied at the top. Republicans Shelley Luther and Drew Springer are advancing to a runoff in the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Elizabeth Hernandez

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How I proceed with doing candidate interviews can vary from election to election. The last couple of even-year cycles, I’ve focused more on the primaries than the general, because there have been so many highly competitive primaries. Even there, I … Continue reading →

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CD10 poll: McCaul 45, Siegel 43

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One more Congressional district polled. A new internal poll from the Democratic nominee for Texas’ 10th Congressional District, Mike Siegel, showed the race against Rep. Michael McCaul within just two points. The poll found a narrowing lead for McCaul, who … Continue reading →

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Paxton opposes Hotze mandamus to curb early voting

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Reform Austin: In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that the GOP group suing Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent him from extending early voting for the November election has no standing … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Carol and Borris

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is another easy call. When Carol Alvarado was elected to represent state Senate District 6 in a special election in 2018, she already had an impressive record under her belt. After serving on Houston City Council and as the … Continue reading →

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PPP/TDP: Trump 48, Biden 48

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More polls. A new poll of likely voters found that President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are tied in Texas. The poll, commissioned by the Texas Democratic Party through Public Policy Polling, is the latest reflecting a dead … Continue reading →

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Of course the Fifth Circuit paused the straight ticket voting ruling

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Water is wet, the sky is blue, the Fifth Circuit gives Ken Paxton whatever he asks. A federal appeals court on Monday put a temporary hold on a lower court’s ruling last week that reinstated the practice of straight-ticket voting, … Continue reading →

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Hotze’s latest Supreme Court gambit

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He has nothing else to do, clearly. A litigious conservative activist in Houston, the Harris County Republican party, and a number of Republican officials and candidates are asking the Texas Supreme Court to limit in-person and absentee voting options for … Continue reading →

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Castaneda on the air

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More of this, please. Chrysta Castañeda, the Democratic candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, is investing in six figures worth of television ads in the Houston area starting Friday. Castañeda is facing off against Republican Jim Wright, best known for … Continue reading →

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Interview with Julie Oliver

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If the story of the 2018 Congressional elections in Texas was the unprecedented number of serious candidates and their equally unprecedented success at fundraising, the story of 2020 is how many of those Congressional races are seen as credibly winnable … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals stright ticket voting ruling

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Letting no moss grow. The Texas Attorney General’s office filed an appeal and motion to stay Saturday following a federal judge’s order to reinstate straight ticket voting ahead of the November general election. Lawyers representing the Texas Secretary of State … Continue reading →

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The people responded to the call for poll workers

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In Harris County, bigtime. Muhammed Nasrullah was ready to call it quits. After working as an election judge in every Harris County contest since 2004, the COVID-19 pandemic discouraged the 67-year-old retired mechanical engineer from signing up again. He is … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Ed and Kim

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is an easy call. Anyone who has been led by personal experience or the events of the past year to conclude that cops are callous and jaded hasn’t meant Ed Gonzalez. The compassionate approach of this 51-year-old homicide detective-turned-city … Continue reading →

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Hey, look, it’s online voter registration!

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And they said it couldn’t be done. When Jarrod Stringer updated his driver’s license address in 2014, the Texas Department of Public Safety website asked if he wanted to register to vote. He clicked yes and thought he was registered. … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of CD24

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The focus of this story is mostly on Democrat Candace Valenzuela, as it should be. She experienced homelessness at a young age. She worked several odd jobs throughout high school and college to make ends meet. A high school car … Continue reading →

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Straight ticket voting reinstated (for now)

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That was unexpected. Less than three weeks before early voting begins in Texas, a U.S. district judge has blocked the state from eliminating straight-ticket voting as an option for people who go to the polls this November. In a ruling … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of the Senate race

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It really comes down to the top of the ticket. There’s no getting around it. Even before a pandemic struck, protests over racial justice took to the streets and a vacancy opened on the U.S. Supreme Court, this year’s U.S. … Continue reading →

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