Tag Archives: Travis County

Paxton whines about the disciplinary process he selected

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

My head hurts. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state’s top lawyer, said Friday the state bar was suing him for professional misconduct related to his lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election. “I have recently learned that the Texas State … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Donald Trump, Election 2020, Jim Harrington, Ken Paxton, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, President, SCOTUS, State Bar of Texas, Texas, Texas Bar Foundation, Texas Civil Rights Project, Travis County | 1 Comment

When a divorce helps to define a marriage

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting case. A gay San Antonio man has filed for a divorce in which he seeks to prove a common law marriage existed with his former partner of 25 years when federal law prohibited same sex marriage. The law has … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Bexar County, divorce, gay marriage, gay rights, Greg Abbott, Mark Phariss, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Tarrant County, Texas, Travis County | 4 Comments

Appeals court upholds school district mask mandates

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not the most timely ruling ever, but still nice. An appellate court on Thursday sided with Texas school districts in their dispute with state officials over mask mandates, which numerous school systems have already lifted as pandemic conditions have eased. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Austin, Austin ISD, coronavirus, Dallas ISD, Election 2022, face masks, Fort Worth, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HISD, Ken Paxton, local control, Pflugerville, schools, Southern Center for Child Advocacy, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Disaster Act, The Lege, Third Court of Appeals, Travis County | Comments Off

Precinct analysis: Beto’s range in the 2022 primaries

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

When you get 91.34% of the vote in an election, as Beto did in the Democratic primary for Governor, there’s usually not a whole lot of interesting data beneath the surface. But you never know until you look, so I … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged Beto O'Rourke, Bexar County, Cameron County, Collin County, Dallas County, Democratic primary, Denton County, Dimmit County, Duval County, El Paso, Election 2018, Election 2022, Fort Bend County, Frio County, Governor, Harris County, Hidalgo County, Jefferson County, Jim Wells County, Joy Diaz, Maverick County, Michael Cooper, Montgomery County, Nueces County, precinct analysis, Sema Hernandez, Senate, Tarrant County, Texas, Travis County, Webb County | Comments Off

More data about mail ballot rejections

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Keep it coming. Thousands of Texans who attempted to vote by mail in the March primary were disenfranchised in the state’s first election conducted under a new Republican voting law. The state’s largest counties saw a significant spike in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged absentee ballots, Bexar County, Bryan Hughes, Collin County, Dallas County, Donald Trump, drivers licenses, El Paso, Election 2018, Election 2020, Election 2022, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Hays County, Hidalgo County, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, Nueces County, Parker County, primaries, Secretary of State, Social Security number, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter ID, voter suppression, Williamson County | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Final 2022 primary vote totals from those counties of interest

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

At the end of early voting, I posted some totals from various counties around the state. I noted at the time it was an imprecise comparison since I included final 2018 turnout numbers as the comparison point for 2022 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged absentee ballots, Bell County, Bexar County, Brazoria County, Brazos County, Cameron County, Collin County, Comal County, Dallas County, Democratic primary, Denton County, early voting, El Paso, Election 2018, Election 2022, Ellis County, Fort Bend County, Hays County, Hidalgo County, Johnson County, Lubbock, Maverick County, Montgomery County, Nueces County, primaries, Smith County, Starr County, Tarrant County, Texas, Travis County, turnout, voter suppression, Webb County, Williamson County | 1 Comment

2022 primary early voting statewide

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Turnout information for early voting for all counties is available on the Secretary of State website. They used to only have this for the 30 most populous counties, which skewed things in a Democratic direction, but a law passed in … Continue reading →

Some DAs refuse to enforce Abbott’s anti-trans order

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. District attorneys in five of the largest counties in Texas on Thursday announced that they will not comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) and state attorney general Ken Paxton’s (R) directive that state agencies begin investigating … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Bexar County, Christian Menefee, Dallas County, Department of Family and Protective Services, Fort Bend County, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Ken Paxton, Kim Ogg, Nueces County, Texas, The Lege, transgender rights, Travis County | Comments Off

Injunction granted in lawsuit over criminal penalties for election officials who encourage voting by mail

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a somewhat complicated headline for this. A new Texas law that keeps local election officials from encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots likely violates the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled late Friday. Following a testy three-hour hearing earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, Brennan Center, Cathy Morgan, Christian Menefee, Election 2022, elections administrator, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Isabel Longoria, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Texas, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Williamson County | 1 Comment

The CDC gets in on the “track COVID in the wastewater” project

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. U.S. public health officials are expanding their monitoring of Covid-19 in sewage, which has become a crucial early warning for surges of new cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week began sharing virus wastewater … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged Amy Kirby, Biobot Network of Wastewater Treatment Plants, Centers for Disease Control, coronavirus, Kaufman County, National Wastewater Surveillance System, Texas, Travis County, wastewater | Comments Off

Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Scary story: . From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: “@TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges.” — Austin Statesman … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged absentee ballots, County Clerk, Dana DeBeauvoir, Early Voting Ballot Board, Election 2020, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Ken Paxton, Montgomery County, poll watchers, Rob Icsezen, Secretary of State, Signature Verification Committee, Texas, Travis County, voter suppression | 2 Comments

I repeat: We need to get more kids vaccinated

Posted on January 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Come on, Houston. In spite of the spread of the omicron variant, national COVID-19 vaccination rates for children ages 5-11 remain low. The same is true for children in Harris County, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of CDC data. Of Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged Bexar County, coronavirus, Dallas County, Harris County, hospitals, Houston, Kaiser Family Foundation, Texas, Texas Department of State Health Services, Travis County, vaccinations | Comments Off

Don’t expect the absentee ballot fiasco to improve

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Things are working as planned. Signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in September, the voting law known as Senate Bill 1 contained an array of new restrictions on the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections. Among … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged absentee ballots, Bexar County, Dana DeBeauvoir, drivers licenses, Election 2022, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Association of Election Administrators, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege, Tom Green County, Travis County, voter suppression, Williamson County | 1 Comment

Paxton thumbs his nose at open records demand

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Water is wet. The sun rises in the east. Ken Paxton DGAF about government, ethics, accountability or any of that other namby-pamby stuff. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Travis County district attorney’s determination that Paxton violated open records laws … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Donald Trump, Election 2020, Election 2022, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, Jose Garza, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, open records, sedition, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Public Information Act, Travis County | 1 Comment

Sid Miller’s political consultant indicted

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Todd Smith, a top political consultant to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, was indicted Tuesday on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for state hemp licenses that are doled out … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2022 | Tagged Ag Commissioner, Election 2022, hemp, James White, Sid Miller, Texas, Texas Department of Agriculture, Todd Smith, Travis County | Comments Off

Lots of mail ballot applications are being rejected now

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a feature, not a bug. Hundreds of Texans seeking to vote by mail in the upcoming March primary elections are seeing their applications for ballots rejected by local election offices trying to comply with stricter voting rules enacted … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged absentee ballots, Bexar County, Common Cause, drivers licenses, early voting, Election 2022, Harris County, primaries, Secretary of State, Texas, The Lege, Travis County, voter ID, voter suppression, Williamson County | 3 Comments

Paxton accused of violating open records law

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Put it on his tab. The Travis County district attorney has determined that Attorney General Ken Paxton violated the state’s open records law by not turning over his communications from last January, when he appeared at the pro-Trump rally that … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Donald Trump, Election 2020, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, Jose Garza, Ken Paxton, open records, sedition, Texas, Texas Public Information Act, Travis County | 16 Comments

Third Court of Appeals upholds Harris County mask mandate

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Savor the win, for it’s off to SCOTx next. A state appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower-court injunction that allowed Harris County to impose mask requirements despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning such mandates. The Austin-based 3rd Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Christian Menefee, coronavirus, face masks, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Ken Paxton, local control, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Disaster Act, Third Court of Appeals, Travis County | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: The new SBOE map

Posted on December 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: New State House map, New Congressional map I probably care more about the SBOE than most normal people do. It’s not that powerful an entity, there are only 15 seats on it, and their elections go largely under the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged Collin County, Comal County, Dallas County, Denton County, Donald Trump, Election 2012, Election 2016, Election 2020, Election 2022, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Hood County, Joe Biden, Johnson County, Montgomery County, Parker County, precinct analysis, redistricting, SBOE, Somervell County, Tarrant County, Texas, Travis County | Comments Off

The botched “non-citizen” voter purge continues

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

At some point we need to recognize the fact that our Secretary of State’s office is completely, and maybe maliciously, inept at doing this. Texas’ last attempt to scour its voting rolls for noncitizens two years ago quickly devolved into … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged ACLU of Texas, Bexar County, Cameron County, David Whitley, DPS, Fort Bend County, Greg Abbott, Harris County, John Scott, lawsuit, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter registration, Williamson County | 2 Comments

Rep. Martinez-Fischer sues over CD35

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One more federal redistricting lawsuit to add to the pile. Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer filed a lawsuit today challenging boundaries of the recently redrawn U.S. House District 35. In the lawsuit, Fischer claims that the redrawn map violates … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Bexar County, CD35, Congress, Election 2022, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, redistricting, Texas, Travis County, Trey Martinez-Fischer, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

A redistricting lawsuit twofer from MALC

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One federal, one state. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus in the Texas House has opened a second front in the legal war over the state’s new political maps. The caucus on Wednesday turned to the state courts to challenge the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Cameron County, Congress, HD35, HD37, HD38, lawsuit, MALC, redistricting, SBOE, Senate, Texas, The Lege, Travis County, Voting Rights Act, Willacy County | 2 Comments

Comings and goings

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged Bexar County, CD35, CD37, Celia Israel, Claudia Zapata, Congress, County Judge, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, Eddie Rodriguez, Election 2018, Election 2022, Gina Hinojosa, Greg Abbott, Greg Casar, HD122, HD126, HD50, HD52, Ina Minjarez, James Talarico, Kel Seliger, Lloyd Doggett, Lyle Larson, Nelson Wolff, primaries, quorum, redistricting, Rudy Metayer, SD31, Senate, Texas, The Lege, Travis County, Trey Martinez-Fischer, Wendy Davis, Williamson County | Comments Off

The proposed State House map is out

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The last of the bunch. Texas House members on Thursday released the first proposal for a new map redrawing the chamber’s 150-member districts. The initial draft would both increase Republicans’ strength across the state and the number of districts in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Bexar County, Collin County, Comal County, Dallas County, Denton County, Donald Trump, El Paso, Election 2020, Election 2022, Erin Zwiener, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Hays County, HD145, HD148, HD19, HD31, HD45, HD57, HD60, HD73, HD74, HD76, HD92, Heights, James Talarico, Jeff Cason, Joe Biden, redistricting, Ryan Guillen, special session, Tarrant County, Texas, The Lege, Todd Hunter, Travis County | 3 Comments

First proposed Congressional map is out

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a thing. Texas lawmakers on Monday released their first draft of a new congressional map for the next decade that includes two new districts in Austin and Houston — metropolitan areas with diverse populations tht fueled much of the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged Al Green, Beth van Duyne, CD02, CD07, CD09, CD15, CD18, CD23, CD24, CD25, CD28, CD29, CD31, CD32, CD37, CD38, Census, Colin Allred, Congress, Dan Crenshaw, demography, Donald Trump, Election 2020, Election 2022, Harris County, Henry Cuellar, Jessica Cisneros, Joan Huffman, Joe Biden, John Carter, Lizzie FLetcher, redistricting, Roger Williams, Sheila Jackson Lee, special session, Sylvia Garcia, Texas, The Lege, Travis County, Vicente Gonzalez, Wesley Hunt | 9 Comments

Planned Parenthood gets injunction against Texas Right to Life

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. A district court in Travis County granted a temporary injunction on Monday, which will stop an anti-abortion group from being able to sue Planned Parenthood centers under SB 8, the so-called “heartbeat bill.” Planned Parenthood affiliates in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged abortion, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, Planned Parenthood, SCOTUS, Texas, Texas Right to Life, The Lege, Travis County | 1 Comment

Just a reminder, no one is enforcing Abbott’s mask mandate ban

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you had forgotten. While Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is speaking out against mask mandates in schools and suing to stop some Texas school districts from enacting them, in reality his order banning such mandates has gone largely unenforced … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Bexar County, coronavirus, Dallas County, face masks, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, local control, schools, Steve Allison, Supreme Court, Tarrant County, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Travis County, US Department of Education | 3 Comments

First two lawsuits filed against the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

No time wasted. The top elections official in Harris County and a host of organizations that serve Texans of color and Texans with disabilities have fired the opening salvos in what’s expected to be an extensive legal battle over Texas’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Dana DeBeauvoir, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | Comments Off

The legal situation with the heartbeat bill

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m writing this at eight PM, and will very likely be asleep before SCOTUS takes any action, if they do take action. So let’s start with what we have as of now: . The abortion providers and others challenging #SB8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged abortion, FDA, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, Michelle Tuegel, Planned Parenthood, SCOTUS, Texas, The Lege, Travis County | 1 Comment

More injunctions against the mask mandate bans

Posted on August 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. Concluding that Gov. Greg Abbott exceeded his authority by banning mask mandates in Texas, an Austin judge ruled Friday that school districts in Travis County can enforce face coverings as a COVID-19 precaution. State District Judge Catherine … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Austin, Austin ISD, Christian Menefee, coronavirus, Dallas ISD, face masks, Fort Worth, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HISD, Ken Paxton, local control, Pflugerville, schools, Southern Center for Child Advocacy, Supreme Court, Texas, Texas Disaster Act, Third Court of Appeals, Travis County | 3 Comments

The mask rebellion

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sweet, sweet music to the ears. The local mask rebellion, coupled with the fresh threat of legal action from President Joe Biden’s administration, poses the most serious challenge yet to [Gov. Greg] Abbott’s emergency powers, which he has wielded in … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged Bexar County, Cameron County, coronavirus, Dallas County, Election 2021, Election 2022, face masks, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Hays County, Hidalgo County, HISD, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, local control, Nueces County, Paris ISD, polls, schools, Supreme Court, Texas, Travis County, vaccinations | 18 Comments

SCOTx demurs

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting: . Important context here > — Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) 6:55 PM – 19 August 2021 . The Texas Supreme Court has left in place a Travis County judge’s TRO (that blocked @GovAbbott’s ban on mask mandates in Austin), … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged 4th Court of Appeals, Austin, Bexar County, coronavirus, face masks, Fort Bend County, Fort Bend ISD, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HISD, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, local control, San Antonio, San Antonio ISD, Supreme Court, Texas, Travis County, vaccinations | 6 Comments

Using the dress code to skirt the ban on mask mandates

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brilliant! The Paris school district found a loophole in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order preventing mask mandates across the state. Paris ISD’s board of trustees voted to alter the district’s dress code to include masks, according to its website. The school district, which is located … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Austin, Bexar County, coronavirus, Dallas County, Dallas ISD, face masks, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HISD, Ken Paxton, Lamar County, lawsuit, local control, Michael Hinojosa, Paris, Paris ISD, Pflugerville, schools, Southern Center for Child Advocacy, Supreme Court, Texas, Travis County | 2 Comments

SCOTx confirms quorum-busting Dems can be arrested

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I thought this had been settled already, but I guess not. Texas House Democrats who refuse to show up to the state Capitol in their bid to prevent Republican lawmakers from passing a voting restrictions bill can be arrested and … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged Dade Phelan, Harris County, lawsuit, quorum, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, Travis County | 7 Comments

Tag Archives: Travis County

Calendar

Categories

Archives

My linkage

Polling Texas 2020

Polling Texas 2018

Polling Texas 2016

Polling Texas 2014

Polling Texas 2012

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Tags

Blogroll

Utilities