Tag Archives: runoff

Appeals court upholds vote by mail order

Second round goes to the plaintiffs. A state appeals court upheld a temporary order Thursday from a state district judge that could greatly expand the number of voters who qualify for mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, rebuffing Attorney General … Continue reading

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Paxton tries a Supreme shortcut

They sure are keeping busy. In a bit of judicial leapfrog, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on his interpretation of how voters can qualify for absentee ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. … Continue reading

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Early voting gets an early start

This is a remarkably sensible thing to do. Ahead of the first statewide election during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Greg Abbott has doubled the length of the early voting period for the upcoming July primary runoff elections. In a proclamation … Continue reading

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Yet another lawsuit over voting by mail

Turns out there are a lot of obstacles to voting by mail in Texas, and so there are a lot of lawsuits being filed by various plaintiffs to rectify that. A coalition of voters and civil rights groups opened a … Continue reading

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The bad guys will be spending a lot in Texas, too

Don’t get complacent. The Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity is planning an unprecedented push into Texas in 2020, throwing its support behind a slew of Republican candidates and expecting to spend millions as Democrats also commit more resources to the state … Continue reading

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TDP petitions appeals court to get Paxton to knock it off

Good. The Texas Democratic Party has asked a court to order state officials not to interfere with a previous court order that opened up mail-in voting in the state. In their filing Tuesday with the Third Court of Appeals, lawyers … Continue reading

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UT-Tyler/DMN: Trump 43, Biden 43

New day, new poll. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are in a dead heat in the race for Texas, signaling that the Lone Star State is evolving into a presidential battleground. A new Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler … Continue reading

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First hearing for TDP federal vote by mail lawsuit set for next week

Here we go. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery has ordered a hearing on expanding vote-by-mail to all Texas voters in advance of the July 14 Democratic Party runoff election. The hearing, set for 9 a.m. May 15, will allow only … Continue reading

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Comparing the April finance reports

In my roundup of April finance reports for Congress, I said I’d do a comparison of the 2018 numbers to 2020. I’m a blogger of his word, so let’s have that look. Dist Year Name Raised Spent Loans On Hand … Continue reading

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The TDP motion for a fast ruling in their federal vote by mail lawsuit

I mentioned this in passing in yesterday’s post, so here are some more details. Updating an ongoing lawsuit, the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday asked a federal judge in San Antonio to issue an order by May 15 requiring state … Continue reading

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Harris County preps for more mail ballots

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to spend up to $12 million for an expected uptick in requests for mail-in ballots in the July primary runoff and November general election from voters concerned about contracting the novel coronavirus … Continue reading

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April 2020 campaign finance reports: Congress

Hey, remember politics? You know, races and finance reports and stuff like that? Yeah, it’s still happening, weird as that may seem right now. As we are well into April, the Q1 Congressional finance reports for 2020 are in, and … Continue reading

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How do you conduct an election in a pandemic?

We’re about to find out, one way or another. There will be an election in Texas in mid-July, apparently with polling sites, election workers and voting machines in place so people can cast their ballots in person. How many voters … Continue reading

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Here’s the official order in the TDP vote by mail lawsuit

Round One went to the plaintiffs. From there, who knows. A Texas state district judge on Friday issued an order allowing voters to use the coronavirus as a reason to vote by mail for as long as the pandemic lasts … Continue reading

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So about that Senate race

I mostly agree with this. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s re-election campaign should be his race to lose. The coronavirus outbreak, by most measures, has given Cornyn an even bigger advantage as he runs for a fourth term. The Texas Republican … Continue reading

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TDP gets initial win in vote by mail lawsuit

It’s a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go. A state district judge on Wednesday said he will move forward with an order easing restrictions for voting by mail in Texas in light of the new coronavirus … Continue reading

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Another view of the lawsuit over expanded voting by mail

From Ian Millhiser at Vox, who is decidedly more pessimistic about the plaintiffs’ chances. He starts by noting how restrictive Texas’ existing vote-by-mail law is. The law only allows Texas voters to obtain an absentee ballot under a very limited … Continue reading

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Dutton’s colleagues ask for investigation of Natasha Ruiz

Hey, look, it’s actual election news! Nearly the entire Harris County Democratic legislative delegation has asked the county attorney and district attorney to open a criminal investigation into the candidacy of a Texas House candidate whose existence was called into … Continue reading

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Intervening in the mail ballot expansion lawsuit

From the inbox: The ACLU of Texas, American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas Civil Rights Project on Wednesday joined a case seeking to declare that under Texas law all registered voters qualify to request a mail-in ballot as a result … Continue reading

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So about those runoffs

They’re still happening in July. For now. Democrats and Republicans across Texas are settling in for the new normal that is campaigning in the time of the novel coronavirus. Not only has the pandemic upended how candidates campaign for the … Continue reading

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TDP files lawsuit to expand vote by mail

All right, then. Following fruitless negotiations over how to proceed with the upcoming primary runoff elections, Texas Democrats are looking to the courts to push for an expansion of voting by mail in the state. In a lawsuit filed in … Continue reading

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Primary precinct analysis: Who did what in the RRC race

The Railroad Commissioner primary was a bit like the Senate primary – multiple candidates (though not nearly as many), not a whole lot of money, but the candidate who did best in fundraising was also the leading votegetter. Here’s a … Continue reading

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All mail ballots for the primary runoffs are being discussed

This is a pleasant surprise. Texas is not making any moves to delay the May 26 primary runoff as of now, even as other states have opted to postpone elections. But election officials have had preliminary conversations about the potential … Continue reading

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What should we do about the runoffs?

With coronavirus concerns now shutting down all kinds of public events and other large gatherings, it’s more than fair to wonder what the risks are of conducting the primary runoffs in the usual fashion. This post on Indivisible Houston suggests … Continue reading

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You periodic reminder that every vote matters

2020 Republican primaries edition. One vote still separates second and third place in the GOP primary for Texas House District 47, but a revised total released Wednesday pushed Justin Berry ahead of Don Zimmerman for the final spot in the … Continue reading

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District B lawsuit drags on

Double ugh. It could be another four to five months before voters in Houston’s District B can select a new city council member, extending a delay that has held up a runoff there since December. The Houston-based First Court of … Continue reading

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Elisa Cardnell suspends campaign in CD02

From the inbox: Monday morning, Elisa Cardnell, Democratic candidate for US House of Representatives in Texas’s 2nd District, suspended her campaign. She released the following statement. “When we began this campaign no one thought this race was possible. Every rating … Continue reading

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Runoff roundup

Here, as best as I can determine, are the runoffs of interest for May: US Senate – MJ Hegar versus Royce West CD02 – Sima Ladjevardian versus Elisa Cardnell CD03 – Lulu Seikaly versus Sean McCaffity CD10 – Mike Siegel … Continue reading

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HCDP statement on Natasha Ruiz

From the inbox: The Harris County Democratic Party has learned of an allegation that a candidate on the Harris County Democratic Party Primary ballot for Texas House District 142 may not have been a genuine candidate. HCDP has not been … Continue reading

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It’s Hegar versus West for the Senate nomination

The last undetermined race on the Dem side has an answer. MJ Hegar and Royce West are advancing to a runoff for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Hegar, the former Air Force helicopter pilot backed … Continue reading

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2020 primary results: Senate and Congress

In the US Senate primary, MJ Heger is clearly headed to the runoff. It’s less clear who’s in second place, in part because the statewide results are so out of date on both the Trib and SOS pages. As of … Continue reading

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2020 primary results: State races

I’m going to direct you to the Texas Tribune results page, which combines both parties’ results and is a couple orders of magnitude less sucky than the revamped SOS election night results pages. Good Lord, whoever designed that “upgrade” from … Continue reading

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2020 primary results: Harris County

Let’s start with this. Long lines combined with a lack of voting machines turned into frustration for voters at several election sites in Harris County on Super Tuesday. Margaret Hollie arrived at the Multi Service Center on Griggs Road at … Continue reading

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UH Senate poll: Hegar leads, the rest scramble

Day Two of the UH Hobby School of Public Affairs poll, and a second result showing that MJ Hegar is in a strong position to make the primary runoff for Senate. Hegar, a Round Rock Democrat who narrowly lost a … Continue reading

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