Tag Archives: Harris County

A broader look at the statewide judicial races

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: Judicial candidates are subject to strict campaign finance restrictions, making it difficult to get their names out across a state of 28 million. And they must walk a difficult line as they campaign, running as partisans without … Continue reading →

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Seeking a solution for the translators

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see it. Three days after election workers barred translators from asking Korean-American voters if they needed assistance inside a Spring Branch polling place, Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart met with a group of Korean-Americans to find a way … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day 10: Happy Halloween

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the totals for Wednesday, and here are the daily totals from 2010, from 2014, and from 2016, as well as a spreadsheet with totals from 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. The running tallies: Year Mail Early Total ============================== … Continue reading →

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Shame on you, Stan Stanart

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Just go away. Judging by Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart’s campaign website, you might think that he is running against George Soros — the billionaire Jewish philanthropist who’s become a worldwide lightning rod for anti-Semitic groups, white supremacists and conspiracy … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day 9: Who are these people?

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The question keeps getting asked, who is it that has been voting so far? An unprecedented number of Texans cast their ballots during the first week of early voting, but it is impossible to predict whether that surge will benefit … Continue reading →

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Translators

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I wish there were a better way to handle this. The Harris County Clerk’s office on Monday defended a decision by election workers to bar translators offering assistance to Korean-American voters from a Spring Branch polling site the day before. … Continue reading →

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Early voting, Day 8: On to Week 2

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the totals for Monday, and here are the daily totals from 2010, from 2014, and from 2016, as well as a spreadsheet with totals from 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. The running tallies: Year Mail Early Total ============================== … Continue reading →

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Day 7 early voting: Let the hot takes begin

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to quote this bit from this story about how the Senate campaigns are interpreting the early vote turnout so far. Derek Ryan, a GOP data consultant who previously worked for the state party, said there are a … Continue reading →

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Day 6 early voting: A very early stab at projecting turnout

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is the point in the early voting process where early voting hours expand, and as a result daily EV reports come in later. That may affect my ability to present the latest data each day, so I’m going to … Continue reading →

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Harris County makes its robot brothel ban official

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We can all sleep more soundly now. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously adopted new rules to prevent so-called “robot brothels” from opening and more strictly regulate sexually oriented businesses in unincorporated areas. The county already had been revising … Continue reading →

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Early voting Day 5: It’s been a long week (in a good way)

Posted on October 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Did I mention it’s been busy? Voters across the state have come out in massive numbers during the first five days of early voting, and soon, more Texans will have voted early in 2018 than in all of 2014’s early … Continue reading →

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Day 4 early voting: A brief look around the state

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has it all organized for you. As of day three of early voting, 1,344,741 Texans have cast in-person ballots and 240,601 cast mail-in ballots in the 30 counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent … Continue reading →

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Eventually we’ll settle the debate about straight ticket voting and judicial races

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

But for now we have one last chance to provide a baseline for comparison. As Harris County goes, so go its judicial races. In three of the last five elections, a single party has swept every Harris judicial contest, with … Continue reading →

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Day 3 early voting: In shorter hours

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve heard a few people complain about the shorter early voting hours in the first week. For the first five days for early voting, Harris County’s 46 polling locations open at 8 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m., the earliest … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: County time

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron circles back to the county races they didn’t get to the first time around, and for reasons I cannot fathom, they still love them some Orlando Sanchez. The race for Harris County treasurer always seems to raise the … Continue reading →

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Day 1 early voting totals: Like three days in one

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was busy. Harris County residents on Monday set a new record for the first day of early voting in a midterm election, as 63,188 went to the polls to cast ballots. The turnout smashed the previous mark, set in … Continue reading →

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Early voting for November 2018 starts today

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: “Study the long November 6, 2018 Election ballot to ensure you make the right choices when voting,”  said Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, encouraging voters to visit www.HarrisVotes.com  and select “Find your Poll and Ballot” to review their personal sample … Continue reading →

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Yeah, we’re still talking about the risk to our elections

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And when we talk about these things, we talk to Dan Wallach. When we think about those who defend the territorial integrity of our nation and state, we tend to imagine well-equipped members of the U.S. armed forces, or perhaps … Continue reading →

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Hotze and the judges

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From family law attorney Greg Enos, who publishes a legal blog/newsletter called The Mongoose (I’ve referenced him here before): Real Journalists Should Investigate How Republican Judges Are Funneling Money to Hotze’s Hate Group I am a full-time lawyer and only … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Incumbency is no advantage, part 2

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron lays down a marker on the county criminal courts. Each election cycle we determine our judicial endorsements by interviewing the candidates, researching their backgrounds, consulting with experts and coming to a conclusion about who best would be able … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Tanya Garrison

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. I am running these responses in the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Donna Roth

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. I am running these responses in the … Continue reading →

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What are your turnout scenarios?

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I keep thinking about this: County Clerk Stan Stanart predicts up to a million Harris County residents could be casting ballots in a string of hotly-contested races. As you’ve heard me say many times, the Democrats’ main issue in off … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Chuck Silverman

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. I am running these responses in the … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles both County Judge candidates

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good story on Lina Hidalgo. First-time candidate Lina Hidalgo hopes Harris County voters frustrated with what she says is poor leadership on flood control and criminal justice reform will help her defeat longtime County Judge Ed Emmett. Hidalgo, 27, is … Continue reading →

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Harris County to follow suit on robot brothels

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

If it’s good for Houston, or not good for Houston, I suppose… Harris County commissioners are prepared to ban so-called robot brothels, just as Houston did last week. Harris County already bans live sex acts at any place of business. … Continue reading →

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Final voter registration numbers

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Busy last week. Harris County added more than 11,000 voters to its rolls in the final week before the registration deadline, the last wave in a surge of half a million new Texas voters since the March primaries. Democrats are … Continue reading →

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Interview with Adrian Garcia

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We finish our tour of Harris County candidates with one of the most successful Democrats in county politics, Adrian Garcia. You know his story, from HPD to Houston City Council to being the top votegetter in the county in the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One out of three will have to do

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They endorsed Ed Emmett, which comes as a surprise to no one. It is with a twinge of regret that we endorse Ed Emmett for re-election as county judge. We’d rather be endorsing the pragmatic Republican for governor. A man … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Sandra Peake

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. I am running these responses in the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Criminal court judges

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a new slate of endorsements from the Chron up, all for Criminal District Court races. More Republicans, mostly incumbents, were endorsed than Dems, but in many cases it was close. Of interest to me was the first appearance of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lina Hidalgo

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The office of Harris County Judge has always been held by a Republican, for all intents and purposes. Before Ed Emmett was Robert Eckels, before Robert Eckels was Jon Lindsay, and before Jon Lindsay I was in second grade, as … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Beau Miller

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to my readers. I am running these responses in the … Continue reading →

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Today is the last day to register to vote

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Take action as needed. As Texas’ Tuesday voting registration deadline approaches, Nasser and a number of other deputy voter registrars, volunteers allowed to register voters on the spot, were out in force Saturday evening. While many states allow voters to … Continue reading →

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