Tag Archives: Secretary of State

Why would any Dem Senator change their mind on Whitley?

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t think of a good answer to that, but the man himself is going to try. Acting Secretary of State David Whitley, whose confirmation has been stalled in the Texas Senate after a controversial advisory from his office questioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A closer look at how Texas strongly discourages voting

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, it strongly discourages some people from voting. Julieta Garibay, a native of Mexico City, was brought to Texas by her mother when she was 12. For 26 years, she was told to assimilate and stay quiet so people wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A closer look at how Texas strongly discourages voting

Settlement officially reached in lawsuits over bogus SOS advisory

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Great news. Three months after first questioning the citizenship status of almost 100,000 registered voters, the Texas secretary of state has agreed to end a review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens that was flawed from the start. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Congressional Republicans seek to halt SOS voter purge inquiry

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Republicans are challenging the authority of a U.S. House panel to investigate the Texas effort to purge thousands of suspected non-citizens from voter rolls, contending in letters Monday that a recent request … Continue reading →

Posted in National news, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Paxton gives the middle finger to House Oversight Committee

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’re as shocked as I am. Facing an investigation over the state’s botched efforts to screen its voter rolls for noncitizens, the Texas Attorney General’s Office is declining congressional leaders’ request for information about the review. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton gives the middle finger to House Oversight Committee

Failing upward

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Must be nice. The day after David Whitley took office as Texas secretary of state on Dec. 17, he received a 49 percent pay raise thanks to his friend and political patron, Gov. Greg Abbott. In a Dec. 18 letter to the Legislative … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Failing upward

LULAC settles its SOS lawsuit

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The state of Texas is ending a program to purge voters it claimed were noncitizens in order to settle lawsuits brought by civil rights groups over the plan. The deal was reached following a meeting Monday in San … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on LULAC settles its SOS lawsuit

Congress to investigate bogus SOS advisory

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Elections do have consequences. The U.S. House’s main investigative committee has opened an inquiry into the Texas secretary of state’s review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens. In letters sent to top Texas officials on Thursday, U.S. Reps. Elijah … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Of course some voters were removed by that bogus SOS advisory

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No one should be surprised by this. Fourteen Texas voters caught up in the secretary of state’s botched review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens had their registrations canceled but have since been reinstated, state officials told a federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Of course some voters were removed by that bogus SOS advisory

Still a “no” on Whitley

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As it should be. Senate Democrats still pledge to block the confirmation of embattled Secretary of State David Whitley, even as a top Texas law enforcement official is taking blame for major errors in a list of suspected non-citizen voters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Letting 17-year-olds vote

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sort of. Hoping to fuel the next crop of young voters, state lawmakers filed bills that would allow 17-year-olds to vote in some primary elections if they are going to turn 18 before the general election. The 17-year-olds would only … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

McCraw falls on his sword

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a good company man, I’ll give him that much. After being rebuked by Gov. Greg Abbott for the state’s botched review of the voter rolls, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety took “full responsibility” Tuesday for … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

SOS screws up again

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Are you kidding me? The list of missteps in the Texas secretary of state’s review of the voter rolls for supposed noncitizens grew again Monday, when the office inadvertently added additional people to its already flawed list of voters flagged … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Vote centers approved for Harris County

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Today, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley approved Harris County as one of six Texas counties with a population of more than 100,000 to participate in the Countywide Polling Place Program. With over 2 million registered voters, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Vote centers approved for Harris County

Blaming DPS

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your new scapegoat for the SOS non-citizen voter advisory fiasco. Amid the fallout surrounding his administration’s botched review of the voter rolls, Gov. Greg Abbott has picked a side. Who’s to blame for the state’s mistaken challenge to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Senate committee advances Whitley nomination

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll take Pointless Wastes of Time for $200, Alex. A Texas Senate committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Texas Secretary of State David Whitley — the most forward motion he’s made in weeks in a stalled nomination that … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Senate committee advances Whitley nomination

Judge blocks any voter purges from the SOS advisory

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Let’s hope this lasts. In a major victory for voting rights groups, a federal judge has ordered that no Texas county should purge suspected noncitizen voters from the rolls or issue letters demanding that they prove their citizenship “without … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Of course there are bills to do something with that bogus SOS advisory

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

What else did you expect? Among other things,  Senate Bill 960 and Senate Bill 953, filed late last week, would require voter registrars across the state to kick every person off the voter rolls who at one point said they were not a citizen … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Testimony ends in SOS advisory lawsuit

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait for a ruling. We’ve already sort of gotten one, but it’s not all official yet. As part of an ongoing flurry of litigation in federal court here over the state’s bungled citizenship review of its voter rolls, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another reason David Whitley has to go

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

County elections officials feel like they can’t trust him or his office right now. That’s a big deal. As the Texas secretary of state’s office rolled out its botched effort to review the citizenship of nearly 100,000 voters, Betsy Schonhoff … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Civil rights groups want Whitley to not be confirmed

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No kidding. More than 30 civil rights and community groups are calling on Senate Democrats to block the confirmation of embattled interim Secretary of State David Whitley, who oversaw the botched rollout of an investigation into the citizenship of tens … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

SOS advisory lawsuit continues

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Day Two of testimony: Despite a glaring error in the original data that questioned the citizenship status of tens of thousands of registered voters, a state elections official defended the investigation in federal court Wednesday, saying some potential illegal … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

First day in court for SOS advisory lawsuits

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

First day for the first lawsuit, one of three filed against that bogus SOS advisory. A federal judge in San Antonio will hear arguments Tuesday in one of three legal challenges to the state’s initiative to purge tens of thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here’s one solution to the SOS problem

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Works for me. A San Antonio state rep wants to repeal the law that let Texas Secretary of State David Whitley refer a poorly vetted list of 95,000 people’s names to the attorney general for investigation for voter fraud. Rep. … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here’s one solution to the SOS problem

Whitley’s “apology”

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He can do a lot better than this. He should do a lot better than this if he wants to get confirmed. Facing an uncertain path to confirmation after ordering a deeply flawed voter citizenship review that seemingly focused on … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vote centers advance

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The other big story from Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting. Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman’s plan to shift to countywide voting centers inched forward this week when Commissioners Court unanimously agreed to file an application with the secretary of state asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Vote centers advance

Paxton double-talks on that SOS advisory

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Ken Paxton really can’t be trusted. Not exactly earth-shattering, I know, but always good to remember. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton assured lawmakers on Friday that his office hadn’t launched criminal investigations into nearly 100,000 voters flagged by the secretary … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton double-talks on that SOS advisory

Paxton manages to restrain himself from prosecuting anyone on the SOS list – yet

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Mighty decent of you there, Kenny boy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told lawmakers Friday that his office has yet to take action on a deeply flawed list of nearly 100,000 Texas voters flagged last month for citizenship review. Paxton … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Whitley hearing

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great day at the office for our Secretary of State and his advisory-ing ways. Almost two weeks after calling into question the citizenship status of almost 100,000 registered voters, Texas’ new chief elections officer, David Whitley, defended his … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SOS Whitley still has to be confirmed by the Senate

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

His committee hearing is today. Secretary of State David Whitley, who sent a flawed data analysis to every elections official in Texas warning that nearly 100,000 non-U.S. citizens may have illegally registered to vote, is due Thursday to meet with … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The state of the state 2019

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that gets noticed. Gov. Greg Abbott, in his biennial State of the State address Tuesday, stayed on message about schools and taxes, continuing state leaders’ so far unified focus on bread-and-butter policy reforms in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The state of the state 2019

Three times a lawsuit

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hat trick! A group of civil and voting rights organizations is suing the state’s chief election officers and local election officials in five counties, claiming Texas’ voter citizenship review efforts are unconstitutional because they intentionally target naturalized citizens and voters … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Second lawsuit filed over bogus SOS advisory

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. A group of Latino voters is suing top state officials who they allege unlawfully conspired to violate their constitutional rights by singling them out for investigation and removal from the voter rolls because they are foreign-born. Filed … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SOS advisory lawsuit update

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Add another plaintiff, litigate till done. A naturalized citizen — who immigrated to Texas from the United Kingdom and is a registered voter — is joining a Latino civil rights group in suing top Texas officials after her voter registration … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments