Tag Archives: absentee ballots

State GOP files suit to stop curbside voting in Harris County

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Honesty, it feels like they’re just trolling now. Hours before early voting began, the Texas Republican Party filed a new lawsuit Monday night challenging Harris County’s efforts to provide more voting options during the coronavirus pandemic, this time asking a … Continue reading →

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November 2020 Early Voting Day One: People sure were ready to vote

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You’re going to hear the words “record-breaking” a lot. More than 125,000 Harris County residents went to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots on the first day of early voting, smashing the county’s previous records. As of about 7:30 p.m., … Continue reading →

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2020 early voting starts today

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Early Voting period for the November 2020 General Election begins tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13th, and continues through Friday, October 30th. This is the longest Early Voting period in Texas history, and voters who are not eligible … Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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Military ballots

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

When we talk about the deadline to print and send out mail ballots, we are specifically talking about ballots sent to active duty military personnel, which by federal law are to be sent out 45 days before Election Day to … Continue reading →

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On executive power and the role of the Legislature

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few thoughts from recent events relating to Greg Abbott, COVID-19, vote access and suppression, local control, all those Hotze lawsuits, and so forth. 1. I think most of us would agree that however we assess Greg Abbott’s performance … Continue reading →

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First hearing for mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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Fourth lawsuit filed over Abbott’s order limiting mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights is heard from: BREAKING: We just sued #Texas over Governor Greg Abbott’s discriminatory 11th hour decision to PROHIBIT counties from providing voters with more than 1 drop-off location for mail-in ballots. This ban has … Continue reading →

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Win one, lose one at SCOTX

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The win: Early voting in Texas can begin Oct. 13, following the timeline the governor laid out months ago, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, rejecting a request from several top Texas Republicans to limit the timeframe for voters to … Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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How not to be “ground zero” for voter suppression

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It starts with winning elections. Which would be easier to do if Republicans weren’t hell-bent on making it hard to vote, but then that’s why they do what they do. Fewer and fewer states are standing with Texas as it … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed against Abbott’s mail ballot dropoff order

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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Abbott moves to stop mail ballot dropoff locations

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but this reeks of fear to me. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday declared that counties can designate only one location to collect completed mail ballots from voters, forcing Harris County to abandon 11 sites set … Continue reading →

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You can track your mail ballot in Harris County

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Harris County residents now are able to track the status of their mail ballots through a new system launched by County Clerk Christopher Hollins Wednesday. For the first time, a voter can see when their ballot is mailed to … Continue reading →

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SCOTX hears mail ballot case arguments

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here we are. Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins’ plan to send mail ballot applications to all 2.4 million registered voters in the county far exceeds what the state Election Code allows, the attorney general’s office argued before the Texas Supreme … Continue reading →

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And straight ticket voting is off again

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, but boy are we all getting whiplash over here. Texas voters will not be able to select every candidate of a major political party with one punch, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, upholding a 2017 state law … Continue reading →

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Paxton opposes Hotze mandamus to curb early voting

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Reform Austin: In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that the GOP group suing Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent him from extending early voting for the November election has no standing … Continue reading →

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Hotze’s latest Supreme Court gambit

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He has nothing else to do, clearly. A litigious conservative activist in Houston, the Harris County Republican party, and a number of Republican officials and candidates are asking the Texas Supreme Court to limit in-person and absentee voting options for … Continue reading →

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Paxton appeals stright ticket voting ruling

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Letting no moss grow. The Texas Attorney General’s office filed an appeal and motion to stay Saturday following a federal judge’s order to reinstate straight ticket voting ahead of the November general election. Lawyers representing the Texas Secretary of State … Continue reading →

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NYT/Siena: Trump 46, Biden 43

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The second of two polls from yesterday, both of which are interesting in their own way. The NYT story about the poll, which included results from Iowa (Biden leading by3) and Georgia (tied), is behind their firewall, so I’ll give … Continue reading →

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Appeals court sides with Hollins in mail ballot applications case

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s up to SCOTX now. A Texas appeals court on Friday upheld a district court ruling that denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to block Harris County officials from sending mail ballot applications to the county’s 2.4 million registered voters. … Continue reading →

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Harris County preps to print mail ballots

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

How many they have to print remains an open question at this time. For the first time, Harris County will pay a third-party vendor to print mail ballots, a move intended to help the county clerk handle what is expected … Continue reading →

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SCOTX extends stay in Harris County vote by mail case

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I was set to be super outraged about this, but as you will see it’s not quite as bad as it first looked. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked Harris County from sending mail ballot applications to all registered … Continue reading →

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The case for voting in person

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Wired, an argument for worrying less about voting by mail because voting in person is still a fine way to do it. Casting a ballot in person, it turns out, isn’t so dangerous after all. Early in the pandemic, … Continue reading →

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County’s plan to make in person voting safer is having an effect

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So says this poll. Voters with the highest risk of suffering COVID-19’s worst effects say they’re more likely to vote early this November, according to a Rice University study. A poll of nearly 6,000 Harris County voters found roughly 80% … Continue reading →

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Now we wait on SCOTX

Posted on September 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Shouldn’t have to wait too long to get a resolution to the “Harris County Clerk wanting to send out mail ballot applications to all registered voters” question. A day after a court ruled against him, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton … Continue reading →

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County Clerk can send his vote by mail applications

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A judge on Friday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to halt Harris County’s plan to send mail ballot applications to all 2.4 million registered voters. State District Judge R.K. Sandill denied Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction, stating … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit rejects age discrimination claims in vote by mail lawsuit

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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Where are we with the lawsuit to stop Harris County from sending out vote by mail applications?

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks for asking, we had the hearing in district court yesterday. Voting in person will be safe across Texas in this fall’s general election despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the state’s elections director asserted in a Harris County courtroom Wednesday … Continue reading →

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A win for those with lousy signatures

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news on the voting litigation front. As Texas prepares for an expected deluge of mail-in votes in November, a federal judge has found that one facet of the state’s signature verification rules for those ballots is unconstitutional and … Continue reading →

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They just don’t want you to vote by mail

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s okay if you’re a Republican, of course. As states across the country scramble to make voting safer in a pandemic, Texas is in the small minority of those requiring voters who want to cast their ballots by mail to … Continue reading →

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When HEB is on your side

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Who could be against you? Charles Butt, the billionaire owner of the San Antonio-based grocery chain H-E-B, sent a letter to the Texas Supreme Court this week, siding with Harris County on its plan to send mail ballot applications to … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court issues possibly pointless stay in mail ballots case

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This story doesn’t quite say what it seems to say, as we will see. The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all its voters for the November election. The decision Wednesday came … Continue reading →

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