Tag Archives: Travis County

TDP asks SCOTUS to review age discrimination claim in mail voting

From the inbox: Today, the Texas Democratic Party and voters filed their final brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking its review of the case filed last Spring which challenged the constitutionality of Texas’s law that limits voting by mail, … Continue reading

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No Walmart liquor stores

Some non-election litigation news of interest. Texans still won’t be able to purchase liquor at Walmart, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by the retail giant that would have allowed the booze to be sold at stores in … Continue reading

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Counties of interest, part three: Around Travis

Part 1 – Counties around Harris Part 2 – Counties around Dallas/Tarrant Travis County has been at the forefront of the Democratic renaissance in Texas, punching well above its weight with both performance and turnout. Its blue essence has been … Continue reading

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A high level look at the changing suburbs

The Trib takes a broad and high-level look at what I’m digging into now. Although they didn’t get the blue wave they expected, Democrats narrowed the gap with Republicans in five of the most competitive and populous suburban counties in … Continue reading

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A few thoughts about Election 2020 before Tuesday

Just a brain dump, to get this all out there before we find out what happened. Let’s start with this: After the conclusion of three weeks of early voting, 9.7 million Texans have cast ballots, crushing previous early voting totals … Continue reading

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SCOTX upholds Abbott’s limit on mail ballot dropoff locations

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

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Try not to get sick before Election Day

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

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SCOTX reinstates Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff location limit

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

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Abbott’s order limiting mail ballot dropoff sites blocked again

But that’s not the end of the story, so hang on. A Texas appellate court on Friday stepped in to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting counties to just one mail-ballot dropoff site, but Harris County officials said they will … Continue reading

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State judge halts Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff limit order

Remember there was a state lawsuit over the executive order that limited counties to one mail ballot dropoff location? That suit had a hearing this week, and the plaintiffs prevailed. For now, at least. A Travis County state district judge … Continue reading

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Paxton accuses his accusers

Well, that’s one way to do it. In Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s first interview since seven of top aides accused him of accepting bribes and abusing his office, he said Tuesday that he was about to put one of … Continue reading

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Nate Paul strikes back

Just when I think this can’t get any better. When Ken Paxton announced Friday his office was dropping the investigation into an Austin real estate investor’s claims of mistreatment during a federal raid of his home and business, the attorney … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit upholds Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff limits

Because of course they did. Why would you have expected anything else? In a ruling issued late Monday night, a federal appeals court upheld Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that limited counties to one mail-in ballot drop-off location. A three-judge panel … Continue reading

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Why did Ken Paxton hire a newbie attorney to be a “special prosecutor” or whatever he meant to call him?

The Trib has some questions. It was a baffling, perilous, perhaps unprecedented task. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton hired an outside lawyer last month to look into a complaint of misconduct by a host of state and federal officials, including … Continue reading

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Judge briefly halts Abbott’s order limiting mail ballot dropoff locations

Late Friday breaking news, which lasted until the early afternoon on Saturday. A federal judge ruled Friday that Texas counties can have multiple drop-off locations for absentee ballots heading into the Nov. 3 general election, blocking the enforcement of Texas … Continue reading

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First hearing for mail ballot dropoff locations

Hopefully we’ll get some action quickly. Lawyers for voters and voting rights groups asked a federal judge Thursday to block Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent order limiting counties to one location where voters can hand-deliver mail-in ballots. Abbott waited too long … Continue reading

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Paxton’s first line of defense

Settle in, folks, this is going to be a long one. We’ll start with the Dallas Morning News. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is defending his decision to bring on an outside lawyer to look into a complaint from real … Continue reading

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Third lawsuit filed against Abbott’s order to limit mail ballot dropoff sites

This one’s in state court. Gov. Greg Abbott’s order limiting Texas counties to one mail ballot drop-off location has been challenged in court a third time. The lawsuit filed in Travis County court on Monday alleges that Abbott’s order exceeds … Continue reading

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More details emerge about the latest Paxton allegations

The Chron advances the ball. The top state officials who staged a mutiny against Attorney General Ken Paxton warned that he was using his office to benefit campaign donor Nate Paul, an embattled Austin real estate investor. Paul, a once … Continue reading

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Second lawsuit filed against Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff order

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

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

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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A matter of timing

That’s the stated reason why SCOTX overturned the earlier decision that booted three Green Party candidates off the ballot. The Texas Supreme Court in a new opinion Friday explained its decision to reinstate to the November ballot Green Party candidates … Continue reading

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The Green Party owes Ken Paxton a thank-you note

He did them a solid, that’s for sure. In the legal fight to exclude minor party candidates from the November ballot, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton took a flexible view of time and deadlines. After the Texas GOP filed suit … Continue reading

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SCOTX puts Greens back on the ballot

That sound you hear is my head spinning. The Texas Supreme Court has ordered three Green Party candidates to be restored to the November ballot after Democrats successfully sued to remove them. Last month, a state appeals court sided with the … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit rejects age discrimination claims in vote by mail lawsuit

This is pretty much the end of the line, at least as far as the courts are concerned. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Texas can keep its strict eligibility rules for … Continue reading

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Libertarians will stay on the ballot

Sorry, Republicans. You were too late after all. The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday rejected an attempt by Republicans to kick 44 Libertarians off the ballot in the November elections. Several Republican Party candidates and organizations had sued to remove … Continue reading

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More on the Republican attempt to defenestrate the Libertarians

From the Statesman: Republican candidates and organizations are asking the Texas Supreme Court to remove 41 members of the Libertarian Party from the November ballots. All of the Libertarians are ineligible to run, the GOP argues, because they failed to … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit hears arguments on vote by mail case

One more try before it’s too late to make a difference for this year. The Texas Democratic Party’s lawyer argued today before a federal appeals court that the state is unlawfully discriminating against the majority of the voting-age population by … Continue reading

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A word about mail ballot drop boxes

I learned something in this story. Travis County voters nervous about delays with the post office will be able to hand-deliver mail-in ballots or drop them off at drive-thru sites this fall, County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said Tuesday. “If they … Continue reading

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Republicans go to Supreme Court to remove Libertarian candidates

If at first you don’t succeed, make up a new statutory deadline that you claim is the real date that matters. About a week after Texas Democrats took several Green Party candidates to court and had them knocked off the … Continue reading

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Republicans try and fail to remove Libertarian candidates from the ballot

From Patrick Svitek: . Texas appeals court rejects last-minute lawsuits by @NRCC, @TravisGOP to kick Libertarian candidates off November ballot for not paying filing fees: http://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=fee8c1fc-f70a-4d57-baf0-5775ccdea786&coa=coa03&DT=Opinion&MediaID=9242cd19-73c0-441c-bc1f-786be9ec000f — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) 12:00 AM – 26 August 2020 The Third Court of … Continue reading

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Weekend voting litigation news

I have two news items about voting-related lawsuits. Both of these come via the Daily Kos Voting Rights Roundup, which has been increasingly valuable to me lately, given the sheer number of such lawsuits and the fact that some news … Continue reading

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Further thoughts on the Dems defenestrating the Green candidates

But first, the Chron story about yesterday’s legal action. An appellate court on Wednesday blocked three Green Party candidates from the November ballot because they failed to pay candidate filing fees. The candidates are David Collins, who was running for … Continue reading

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