Senate Bill 9, the controversial election integrity bill, did not get placed on a House calendar prior to the deadline for the House to approve Senate bills.
On Friday, the House Elections Committee approved the committee substitute to on a party-line, 5-4 vote just ahead of the Saturday deadline for House committees to vote on Senate bills. Senate Bill 9 was supported by Tea Party and conservative activists who see it as necessary to clamp down on voter fraud. Voting rights groups, disability advocates, progressives and many election administrators oppose the bill.
Despite its prominent bill number, Senate Bill 9 had no House companion bill, which likely played into its apparent demise.
SEN: San Antonio retired private security professional and perennial candidate Rhett Smith established a campaign committee to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination. Smith received 10% of the vote in the 2008 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. He was the Libertarian nominee for CD11 in 2018 (1%), CD35 in 2016 (3%) and Bexar County Judge in 2014 (2%). He was the Green Party’s nominee for CD14 in 2012 (<1%). He was the Democratic Party’s nominee for CD21 in 2004 (36%). He unsuccessfully challenged then-Gov. Rick Perry (R) in the 2006 Republican primary (5%). Smith is a six-time candidate for mayor of San Antonio, peaking at 13% in 2013. He’s also lost a 2011 race for the San Antonio River Authority board (7%).
Edinburg: The city council has approved a form to recall city leaders, which now gives resident Richard Solis two weeks to gather sufficient signatures to recall Mayor Richard Molina, who has been accused of urging people living outside the city to register to vote within the city so they could vote for him in November 2017.
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