Early voting clerks must give voters a “meaningful opportunity” to confirm their identity before rejecting an absentee ballot because of a “perceived signature mismatch.” Under current law, voters must be informed that their ballot has been rejected within 10 days after the election, which is after the deadline for which a ballot may be counted.
Federal District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled that the existing procedure for rejecting absentee ballots based on signature mismatches is unconstitutional unless voters are provided “pre-rejection notice of a perceived mismatched signature and a meaningful opportunity to cure his or her ballot’s rejection.”
The suit was brought by two voters whose absentee ballots were “improperly rejected” and a coalition of disability rights and voting rights groups including the League of Women Voters of Texas.
“All Texas voters will be given the opportunity to ensure their ballots will count,” said Grace Chimene, president of the LWV of Texas. “A notice and cure process is essential for voters to have confidence when casting their ballots by mail.”
Democratic Super PAC: Forward Majority announced plans to spend $6.2M on 18 competitive Texas House races for television and online advertising and direct mail. The group spent $2.2M in 2018.
PRES (Lean Republican): A new survey of Texas voters (PDF) by Democrat-aligned Public Policy Polling finds President Trump leading Democratic challenger Joe Biden, 48%-47%. Importantly, the poll did not attempt to determine the likelihood that respondents would vote. At this point in the election cycle, the value of a poll of adults/voters is limited compared to a poll of likely voters.
Trump leads among men (52%-43%) while Biden leads among women (50%-45%). They are tied, 46%-46%, among independents, who comprised 22% of respondents. Trump leads among Anglo voters (69%-29%) while Biden leads among Black voters (80%-10%) and Hispanic/Latino voters (71%-23%). Trump leads among voters aged 46 to 65 (50%-46%) and over 65 (53%-42%) while Biden leads among younger voters (51%-43%). Trump leads among voters with a high school education or less (55%-39%) while Biden leads among college graduates (53%-46%) and post-graduate degree holders (62%-36%).
The survey of 743 “Texas voters” was conducted for Giffords. It was conducted via landline and mobile numbers and was in the field September 1-2. No margin of error or other methodological information was provided.
SEN (Lean Republican): The aforementioned Public Policy Polling survey finds U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R) leading M.J. Hegar, 44%-40%, with 15% undecided.
CD7 (Lean Republican): West University Place Mayor Bob Higley endorsed U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston).
CD21 (Toss Up): The campaign of former Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) released an internal poll showing her leading U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin), 48%-47%. In July, the result was reversed as Roy led, 48%-47%. Both results are within the polls’ margins of error. Biden leads Trump, 49%-47%, in the district.
Davis has been on TV for several weeks running a mostly biographical ad, and Club for Growth PAC has been airing negative ads against her for roughly the same period. The Garin Hart Yang Research Group survey of 401 “likely general election voters” was conducted via landline and mobile numbers. It was in the field August 31 to September 4 and has a margin of error of ±5%.
Meanwhile, the House Majority PAC released a new ad, “Gold Star,” criticizing Roy for his no vote on a measure related to tax relief for Gold Star families.
CD22 open (Toss Up): The House Majority PAC released a new ad, “Public Record,” criticizing Fort Bend Co. Sheriff Troy Nehls’s (R) employment and law enforcement record.
CD23 open (Lean Democratic): The House Majority PAC released a new Spanish-language ad, “Pass Through,” which superimposes President Trump’s head on Tony Gonzales’s (R) body.
VoteVets released a new ad, “Manny,” criticizing Gonzales on health care issues.
The group said it was spending more than $500K to air the ad in the San Antonio market.
Gonzales pushed back on the VoteVets ad in a tweet: “if you are going to lie about my position on healthcare, just make sure its not a bullshit ad next time. This is Marine Corp uniform. ‘Manny’ says he’s in the Army.”
CD32 (Lean Democratic): The campaign of Republican challenger Genevieve Collins released a new ad, “Problem Solver,” an upbeat spot featuring the candidate walking through several environments making her case for being the titular “problem solver”
In a press release, the campaign said the ad is the “first installment” in a $2.8M TV ad buy.
Texas Presidential Polls
- Trump 48, Biden 47 – Public Policy Polling (September) – V
- Trump 48, Biden 46 – DMN/UT-Tyler (September) – LV
- Biden 48, Trump 45 – Data for Progress (September) – LV
- Trump 48, Biden 47 – Morning Consult (August) – LV
- Biden 48, Trump 47 – Public Policy Polling (August) – V
- Biden 47, Trump 45 – Global Strategy Group (August) – LV
- Trump 48, Biden 41 – YouGov/THPF (August) – RV
- Trump 49, Biden 43 – Trafalgar Group (August) – LV
- Trump 47, Biden 46 – Morning Consult (August) – LV
- Biden 47, Trump 45 – Morning Consult (July) – LV
- Trump 49, Biden 45 – SPRY Strategies (July) – LV
- Biden 45, Trump 44 – Quinnipiac Univ. (July) – RV
- Trump 46, Biden 45 – CBS News/YouGov (July) – RV
- Trump 46, Biden 44 – Gravis/OANN (July) – LV
- Biden 48, Trump 43 – DMN/UT-Tyler (July) – LV
- Trump 48, Biden 44 – UT/Texas Politics Project (July) – RV
- Biden 45, Trump 44 – Fox News (June) – RV
- Trump 48, Biden 46 – Public Policy Polling (June) – V
- Trump 48, Biden 48 – Public Policy Polling (June) – V
- Trump 44, Biden 43 – Quinnipiac Univ. (June) – RV
- Trump 47, Biden 41 – Emerson (May) – RV
- Trump 50, Biden 43 – Morning Consult (May) – LV
- Trump 43, Biden 43 – DMN/UT-Tyler (May) – RV
- Biden 47, Trump 46 – Public Policy Polling (April) – V
- Trump 49, Biden 44 – UT/Texas Tribune (April) – RV
- Trump 45, Biden 44 – DMN/UT-Tyler (March) – RV
- Trump 49, Biden 45 – Marist Coll. (February) – RV
- Trump 46, Biden 43 – Univision/Univ. of Houston (February) – RV
- Biden 48, Trump 47 – CNN/SSRS (February) – RV
- Trump 47, Biden 43 – UT/Texas Tribune (February) – RV
- Trump 44, Biden 42 – DMN/UT-Tyler (February) – RV
- Trump 51, Biden 46 – Texas Lyceum (January) – LV
- Trump 48, Biden 47 – CNN/SSRS (December 2019) – RV
- Trump 45, Biden 39 – DMN/UT-Tyler (November 2019) – RV
- Trump 46, Biden 39 – UT/Texas Tribune (November 2019) – RV
Links go to our coverage or commentary on the polls. If there is no link, then we either did not see the poll or otherwise did not have enough information to report on it. Legend: LV-Likely Voters, RV-Registered Voters, V-Voters
©2020 Texas Election Source LLC
