Mar 27, 2017 | Campaign News, Special Elections
Voter ID: By a nearly party-line 21-10 vote, the Senate gave its preliminary approval today (Monday) to a bill to update the state’s Voter ID law. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) was the only Democrat to vote for the bill, joining the chamber’s 20 Republicans....
Mar 13, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: The Senate State Affairs Committee unanimously approved a bill updating the state’s Voter ID law consistent with last year’s court ruling. Senate Bill 5 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) largely codifies a court-ordered process by which voters with a...
Feb 28, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: Following a roughly three-hour hearing today in Corpus Christi, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered attorneys to file more briefs focused on how legislative proposals (Senate Bill 5, House Bill 2481) would affect the court case. Plaintiffs...
Feb 27, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: As many expected, the U.S. Dept. of Justice has reversed its prior participation in the years-long litigation over the state’s Voter ID bill and “will not pursue its purpose claim at this time.” Further, DoJ asks the court to grant “voluntary dismissal of...
Feb 24, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos denied the state and federal government’s request to postpone again next week’s Voter ID trial. The hearing to determine whether the 2011 Voter ID law was passed with discriminatory intent will begin on Tuesday. CD21:...
Feb 22, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: Attorney General Ken Paxton and the U.S. Dept. of Justice asked federal judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to delay next week’s trial on discriminatory effect until after June 18, the deadline for Gov. Greg Abbott to veto legislation. SD8: The Dallas Morning News’s...
Feb 21, 2017 | Legislation
Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, filed Senate Bill 5 to update the state’s Voter ID law. The chamber’s other 19 Republican are listed as co-authors. The bill would largely codify the “reasonable impediment” declaration that...
Feb 19, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: According to an Associated Press report, “hundreds” of Texans improperly cast ballots in November by signing a sworn statement falsely claiming they did not possess a required photo identification. The AP’s analysis of “roughly 13,500 affidavits submitted in...
Jan 23, 2017 | Campaign News
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the state’s appeal (pdf) of a lower court ruling invalidating portions of the Voter ID law enacted in 2011. Chief Justice John Roberts indicated the state could pursue an appeal “after entry of final judgment.” A federal court...
Jan 22, 2017 | Campaign News
Voter ID: A continuance requested by the U.S. Dept. of Justice has been granted, delaying until February 28 the start of Tuesday’s trial to determine whether the state passed its Voter ID law with discriminatory intent. The motion for continuance cited “the...
Nov 21, 2016 | Campaign News
HD105: The final vote count shows Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Grand Prairie) defeating Terry Meza by 64 votes. A recount will be conducted on November 28. Voter ID: The U.S. Dept. of Justice argued in a new filing that “discriminatory impact was not merely an unintended...
Oct 18, 2016 | Political Climate
Almost three quarters of Texas voters are unaware that a government-issued photo identification is not required* to vote in this general election, according to a Univ. of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll. About 44% of all voters believe it is required, and...
