Voting by mail in Texas will get a little easier with these legislative fixes
Two bipartisan bills passed this session will give voters more time and opportunities to fix mistakes when they request and return ballots by mail. Full Story
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![The Travis County Tax Office at 5501 Airport Blvd is now the only drive-thru location open for hand delivery of mail ballots in the county. The drop-off location photographed here on Oct. 2, 2020, will be open until Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Texas is set to improve in-person and mail-in voting for people with disabilities
Voters with disabilities have been pushing for more accessibility for years. This legislative session two bills gained bipartisan support. Full Story
![Chase Bearden, 45, of Harlingen, the deputy executive director of The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, poses for a portrait in his office in Austin on June 8, 2023. “Disability doesn’t discriminate,” Bearden said. “We want everybody to be able to vote independently.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers strike deal to raise the punishment for illegal voting to a felony
The legislation was a priority for Republican leadership. But it does not include a key provision supported by the Senate that would have allowed prosecutors to charge a voter who’d unintentionally cast an illegal ballot. Full Story
![People cast their ballots at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature averts $100 million consequences of 2021 law requiring nonexistent election technology
Lawmakers voted unanimously to reverse the 2021 provision that would have decertified equipment that counties use to count votes. Full Story
![A bipartisan testing crew uses voting machines and tabulators during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test at the Hays County Government building in San Marcos on Sept. 21, 2022. The goal of the test was to identify errors in the counting process of ballots.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate again approves increasing penalty for illegal voting to a felony, regardless of intent
The House and Senate bills had differed on whether someone should be punished for voting by mistake. Now the two chambers must reach an agreement. Full Story
![College students begin to vote at Texas A&M International University.]()
Credit: Jessica Nicole Rodriguez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas set to exit multistate program that cleans voter rolls
The multistate program, ERIC, is considered by election administration experts across the country to be the best tool for preventing double voting across state lines. It has been the target of conspiracy theories. Full Story
![Election workers move ballots and equipment gathered at one of the nine rally sites to the Tarrant County Election Administration building in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Harris County must remove its elections chief under new legislation headed to Gov. Greg Abbott
The Republican-led House also approved a bill that would give the secretary of state new authority to investigate complaints in Harris County. The Senate must review changes to that bill before it becomes law. Full Story
![Ballots and scanning machines arrive at central counting after polls close in Houston, Tuesday Nov 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
After a setback, a GOP effort to get Texas out of a multistate coalition to clean voter rolls could move forward
The legislation — backed by some of the state’s prominent believers in voter fraud — was unexpectedly killed by its House sponsor Tuesday. On Wednesday, he asked for it to be reconsidered. Full Story
![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots on Election Day at the Northwest Branch Library in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Eliminating countywide voting in Texas would make the process harder on voters, cost more money, election leaders say
Currently, more than 80% of Texas voters can vote anywhere in their home county, a model that originated in Lubbock County. If lawmakers approve new legislation, that would change. Full Story
![A voter walks past an election sign on his way to vote outside of the Lauro Cavazos Middle School polling station. Lubbock voters chose their voter preferences during the mid-term elections Tuesday, November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Alan Vera, a Republican voter-fraud activist, dies at Texas Capitol
Vera, who planned to testify on election legislation, was a regular at the statehouse. Two weeks ago, lawmakers sang “Happy Birthday” to him during a House Elections Committee hearing. Full Story
![SD 7 delegate Alan Vera uses a megaphone to help direct priority ballots among the other delegates of his district during the third and final day of the Republican Party of Texas Convention on Saturday, June 18, 2022, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.]()
Credit: Michael Wyke, Houston Chronicle/Contributor -
Texas House advances bill to eliminate Harris County election chief position
The new law would force the county to move election duties under its clerk and tax assessor-collector, in reaction to what critics call a continued pattern of election problems. Full Story
![Election workers process ballot machines at the central counting center at NRG Park in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
The 13 election bills to watch as the Texas Legislature heads into its last month
Two years ago, Texas lawmakers focused all their election changes in one bill. There are dozens of proposals this year, and many stem from concerns in Harris County — the nation’s third-largest county. Full Story
![Voters cast their ballots in the Northwest Branch Library in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Tarrant County’s daunting task: hiring a new elections chief to run the 2024 elections in Texas’ largest swing county
County Judge Tim O’Hare wouldn’t rule out hiring someone who questions the legitimacy of the 2020 election results, calling it “not an automatic disqualifier.” Full Story
![Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare listens to comments over the electronic pollbook system in place during a Commissioners Court meeting in Fort Worth on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate moves to end countywide voting on Election Day
Voters in nearly 100 counties — mostly rural — can vote at any polling site in their county. The sponsor, without offering evidence, said the practice was not secure despite years of successful elections in Texas with the system. Full Story
![People walk up to the Willie DeLeon Civic Center Precinct 1 polling station in Uvalde on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Tarrant County’s lauded elections chief resigns, citing differences with new county executive
Heider Garcia, like many other election officials across the country, faced death threats that stemmed from lies about the outcome of the 2020 election. Full Story
![Election Administrator Heider Garcia looks at his phone while working Election Day at the Tarrant County Election Administration building in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas taxpayers face a $100 million bill to update voting machines with equipment that doesn’t exist yet
State lawmakers approved the requirement — which attracted little attention or debate — in their massive overhaul of the state’s voting laws during a 2021 special Legislative session. Full Story
![A bipartisan testing crew uses voting machines and tabulators during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test on Sept. 21 at the Hays County government building in San Marcos. Texas law requires public testing of the voting machines before and after every election.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting her loss after Election Day problems at polling sites
Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo beat Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer by more than 18,000 votes. An assessment of Election Day problems at polling sites “has not yet revealed” whether any voters were turned away. Full Story
![Alexandra del Moral Mealer, a candidate for Harris County Judge, poses for a portrait following a forum hosted by the Houston Super Neighborhood Alliance in Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. Mealer, who was recently endorsed by the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, is challenging incumbent Judge Lina Hidalgo.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
After recount, Democrat remains winner of battleground South Texas Senate seat
Republican Adam Hinojosa conceded Friday after a recount that included three counties in Senate District 27, the most competitive senate district in the state. Full Story
![Morgan LaMantia, Texas Senate District 27 Democratic Candidate, after a Futuro RGV candidate forum in Brownsville on Jan. 19, 2022.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
After disappointing midterms, Texas GOP votes unanimously for a new national leader
Ronna McDaniel has kept the RNC aligned with former President Donald Trump, who some Republicans have blamed for the party’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections. Full Story
![RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at an event for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson in Franklin, Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Angela Peterson/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Critics are pouncing on Harris County’s election fumbles, real and concocted, to fuel legal challenges
In the latest fallout from Election Day woes, a GOP judicial candidate is suing to overturn her loss, citing unspecified data and “2,000 reports” of polling place problems. Full Story
![People cast their ballots at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
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