Conspiracy theorists and 16-hour days: Inside the stress elections officials face ahead of the midterms
Running elections in Texas has never been easy. But since 2020, the scrutiny elections administrators face has grown โ even in small Republican-controlled counties that former President Donald Trump carried.
Texas AG Ken Paxton bans staff lawyers from speaking at state bar events, escalating feud sparked by 2020 election
The bar, which licenses lawyers and offers training sessions, is suing Paxton in an attempt to sanction him for trying block the certification of Joe Bidenโs victory over Donald Trump.
First part of Texasโ 2020 election audit reveals few issues, echoes findings from review processes already in place
An initial review of four countiesโ election results โ launched after pressure from former President Donald Trump and touted by GOP leaders โ showed few discrepancies between electronic and hand counts of ballots in a sample of voting precincts.
Gov. Greg Abbott sticks with hands-off approach to COVID-19 as omicron spreads
Abbottโs office says vaccines are the best defense to the pandemic, however, the governor has rarely spoken about vaccines in recent months other than to push back against mandates. He did not respond to a question about whether he got the booster.
โEvery constitutional right is now at risk": Legal experts warn Supreme Court action on Texas abortion law could lead to copycats
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the majority was straying from the courtโs precedent to step in when state laws chill the exercise of constitutional rights while allowing other states to follow suit.
A growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott โ the only official with the power to convene special sessions โ will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda.
Freshman state Rep. Jasmine Crockett is running for Dallas congressional seat, with Eddie Bernice Johnsonโs backing
Crockett is running for the seat vacated by Johnson, who announced Saturday that she would not seek reelection in the 30th Congressional District after serving nearly three decades in Congress. The seat is solidly Democratic.
Houston state Rep. Dan Huberty, who spearheaded Texasโ 2019 public education overhaul in Legislature, to retire
Earlier this year, Huberty was arrested in Montgomery County after he crashed his car into another vehicle and failed a sobriety test. The lawmaker was driving home from the Capitol in late April.
Texas House passes proposed new map for chamberโs 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicansโ majority for the next decade
Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.
Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts
The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texasโ population growth over the past decade.
Beto OโRourke on Matthew McConaughey: โI donโt know how he feels about any of the issuesโ
In a Texas Tribune Festival interview, the former member of Congress discussed the fight for voting rights, his takeaways from his last two runs for office and speculation about his becoming a candidate for governor.
How the quorum break got broken: Texas Democrats splintered during second session break
For House Democrats, the story of the second special session is much different from that of the first one. The excitement of leaving the state had worn off, the media spotlight had dimmed and the pressures to return home were mounting.
Texas Senate too late with hastily conjured bill allowing party officials to trigger audits of 2020 election
The bill, approved by the Senate and never considered by the House, would have allowed state and local party chairs to file requests to launch audits, but Republicans say the legislation would not have spawned a debacle akin to the controversial review underway in Arizona.
Texas House speaker says โabsolutely no deals madeโ to bring back absent Democrats
Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing โun-repairable harmโ to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber.
Texas Supreme Court denies Democratsโ request to overturn Gov. Greg Abbottโs veto of Legislatureโs funding
Abbott vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the Legislature โ including salaries and benefits of 2,100 employees โ as punishment for House Democrats' May walkout to prevent passage of a controversial voting bill.
With special sessionโs end looming, Texas Democrats and Republicans mull their next moves
Abbott has promised to call a second special session to pass the GOPโs priority voting bill, but the exact timing is uncertain. And House Democrats have not yet revealed what they have planned after the session ends this week.
With time running out, Texas Legislature still at impasse on GOP elections bill
Republicans believe they have already compromised enough on the legislation, while Democrats are distrustful of both the policy driving the bill and their GOP colleagues after seeing how they have managed the process around the proposal so far.
In a major upset against a candidate backed by Donald Trump, Jake Ellzey wins runoff for Fort Worth-area congressional seat
Ellzey, a state representative, beat fellow Republican Susan Wright, who was backed by former President Donald Trump. Ellzey will finish the term of Ron Wright, who died earlier this year after contracting COVID-19.
Deploy law enforcement? Call another special session? Texas GOP mulls options for elections bill after Democrats leave the state
A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support whatโs known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.
Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature
The governor had vowed to veto the Legislatureโs funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill.