Tag Archives: Election 2019

Maybe the Inner Katy Line is only mostly dead

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

That’s one takeaway from this. Houston transit officials are approaching the next few months as a transitional period, as they assess basic improvements, the demands of travel and the expectations of riders eager for better service. “We are going to … Continue reading →

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Metro to kill Inner Katy line

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is such bullshit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority will further reduce its previously planned bus rapid transit efforts while boosting police presence on its routes and increasing its investment in so-called microtransit under its proposed fiscal 2025 budget. The draft … Continue reading →

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Metro officially fails to follow through on the Universities Line

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Cowards. Transit officials received a busload of criticism Thursday for the decision to pause the long-planned east-west spine of rapid transit in the region, with some critics questioning whether the decision was an attempt to kill the line altogether. “I … Continue reading →

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Metro to fund RYDE services

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, fine. Transit officials are poised to pick up the tab for another six months of funding on-demand rides around Second Ward and Third Ward. If approved by the Metropolitan Transit Authority board on Thursday, the agency would spend $216,000 … Continue reading →

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One more time for keeping the Universities line going

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Raj Mankad is a Chron editorial board member and a neighbor of mine, who once took public transit from Houston to Galveston to prove it could be done. He has now taken to the op-ed pages in favor of not … Continue reading →

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LINK Houston advocates for the Universities line

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From Sunday’s op-ed section, three leaders of LINK Houston advocate for the Universities BRT line as promised in the 2019 Metro referendum. This is the part that is most of interest to me: There’s a lot on the line. If … Continue reading →

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Ellis requests full Metro board vote on halting Universities BRT

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s at least put it on the record. Concerned the University Corridor rapid transit line project could be delayed for years, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Friday called on Metro to move forward with the voter-approved project and hold … Continue reading →

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Metro officially puts Universities BRT line in the freezer

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Goddammit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County will not pursue the University Corridor bus rapid transit line, a core element of the MetroNext program, delaying the project indefinitely. During a Tuesday meeting of the board of directors’ Strategic Planning … Continue reading →

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Metro Chair seeks to nullify 2019 election

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so mad about this I’m having a hard time seeing straight. Metro is beginning to steer in a different direction under Mayor John Whitmire and his appointed chair of the transit agency, pulling away from a planned expansion of … Continue reading →

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Yeah, it looks like we do have to worry about Metro going backwards

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Transportation advocacy group LINK Houston, in its annual “Equity in Transit” report released this week, asked the region’s public transit provider to accelerate a $7.5 billion plan that was backed by Harris … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2023 Controller’s runoff

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayoral runoff The City Controller runoff also wasn’t particularly close, as Chris Hollins bested many (many, many, many) time candidate Orlando Sanchez by 17 points. There are some interesting things to point out here though, so let’s get to … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2023 Mayoral runoff

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

You might want to hide your children’s eyes, these numbers are quite ugly if you were a Sheila Jackson Lee supporter: Dist Whitmire J Lee ======================= A 12,578 3,807 B 2,625 11,199 C 29,030 8,769 D 5,012 14,150 E 20,469 … Continue reading →

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The recent history of runoff early voting

Posted on December 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I brought this up in yesterday’s post, so let’s take that look at how much of the runoff vote has been cast early in the last few Mayoral elections. Year Early E-Day Total EV % ======================================= 2003 77,984 138,804 216,788 … Continue reading →

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2023 final runoff Early Voting totals

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting has ended. Early takes are flowing in. As of Tuesday night, nearly 132,000 votes – 120,155 in-person ballots and 11,732 mail ballots – had been recorded in Harris County, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office. That compares … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: At Large #2

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum At Large #1 Dist Davis Hellyar Coryat Bess Holly Obes ========================================================== A 5,494 3,854 1,580 2,112 1,830 1,184 B 5,834 800 1,286 5,148 658 1,211 C 7,921 13,067 2,477 4,679 4,923 … Continue reading →

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2023 runoff early voting: With two days to go

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I changed up the schedule of posting early voting daily totals because I realized that the EV periods for the three years I’m comparing are all different, which makes the comparisons a little screwy. At this point in all three … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: At Large #1

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum We have four runoffs in the At Large races, and they’re all basically D versus R affairs. The HCDP and the Harris County GOP have taken their sides. Let’s look at … Continue reading →

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2023 runoff early voting Day Two totals

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get to it: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 20,233 22,964 43,197 2019 6,024 29,180 35,204 2023 946 28,113 29,059 Again, the early in person totals look normal. The mail, I have no idea. I just now noticed that … Continue reading →

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SurveyUSA Mayoral runoff poll: Whitmire 42, SJL 35

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We finally have a second pollster. State Sen. John Whitmire maintains a 7 percentage point lead over U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race, with a fifth of likely voters having yet to make up their minds … Continue reading →

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2023 runoff early voting Day One totals

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting for the 2023 runoff elections is underway. Here’s the news you can use from Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudpseth: As early voting begins for the December 9 Joint Runoff Election, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth urges voters to … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2023 Mayor’s race

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The November 2023 election has been officially canvassed and certified, and that means that there’s precinct data available for me to analyze. I’ve been working on it over the weekend, and I will tell you it’s a bit more of … Continue reading →

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My initial thoughts on the 2023 election

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Suffice it to say I was off base on turnout. I thought we would be on track to top the turnout of the 2003 Mayor’s race, but in the end we fell short of 2015’s level. I’d have lost quite … Continue reading →

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A few thoughts about Tuesday turnout

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We now know how many early votes were cast in Harris County for the November 2023 election. I’m now going to run through a few scenarios to show what the range of possibility is for overall final turnout. None of … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Final EV totals: Records successfully broken

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We had a big last day in early voting on Friday, as you can see below: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 29,859 164,104 193,963 2019 15,304 137,460 152,764 2023 14,925 224,400 239,325 The final EV totals from 2015 are … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day Eleven EV totals: About to break records

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

With one day to go in early voting, we are about to set a record. Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 27,952 128,611 156,563 2019 14,280 103,945 118,225 2023 14,034 171,673 185,707 The final EV totals from 2015 are here … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day Nine EV totals: Just the numbers

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was Halloween, I’m still a little strung out from handing out Trick or Treat loot, so here’s just the updated numbers: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 24,768 89,599 114,367 2019 11,356 76,613 87,989 2023 10,274 123,609 133,883 The … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day Eight EV totals: You can’t out-nerd me

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story about early voting through Sunday made me grind my teeth. One week in, early voting turnout has surpassed the levels seen in the last two Houston mayoral elections — but not overwhelmingly so — perhaps a surprise … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day Seven EV totals: My one crazy theory

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We are officially one week into early voting for the November 2023 election. Here’s how it’s been going in Harris County so far: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 21,141 61,008 82,149 2019 6,799 55,937 62,736 2023 9,284 91,676 100,960 … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day Three EV totals: All in person

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’re at the first Friday of early voting for the November 2023 election, and a pattern is beginning to emerge. This is the data through Day Three: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 18,196 27,596 45,792 2019 6,050 26,206 32,256 … Continue reading →

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Challenge filed to the law barring felons from running for office

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be keeping an eye on this. Derrick Broze, barred from the upcoming mayoral election because of a two-decades-old felony conviction, sued the state of Texas, arguing its election law is unconstitutional. Broze, a 38-year-old independent journalist and activist, started … Continue reading →

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November 2023 Day One EV totals: You’ve got no mail

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s that time you’ve been waiting for, so here’s what you want: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 14,240 8,891 23,131 2019 5,407 7,973 13,380 2023 3,289 12,740 16,029 The final EV totals from 2015 are here and the final … Continue reading →

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What early voting looked like in 2015 and 2019

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow we start voting – well, technically, tomorrow we start voting in person. People have already been sending in mail ballots, as we’ll see when the Day One EV totals are posted. I will of course report on this as … Continue reading →

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Eric Dick is an old hand at violating campaign laws

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the industry standard around here. Attorney and Harris County Department of Education Trustee Eric Dick faces $40,000 in fines for campaign finance violations after the Texas Ethics Commission recently tacked on another $10,000 penalty. The TEC ruled late last … Continue reading →

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A brief word about voter registration in Houston

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First, some important news: Houston residents have one month left to register to vote in November’s City Hall elections. Residents can visit various Harris County government offices, post offices, libraries or state agencies to fill out and submit a completed … Continue reading →

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