Kyle Rittenhouse launches nonprofit with far-right Texans as he ramps up political engagement in the state
The activist known for shooting Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 has created the Rittenhouse Foundation, which promises to fight for gun rights and includes leaders who have close ties to ultraconservative megadonors from West Texas.
Texas Secretary of State John Scott says our elections are secure, but he sometimes muddles that message
Heading into the midterm elections, Scott has repeatedly insisted that Joe Biden is the rightful president and that Texas’ elections are free, fair and secure. But his delivery has been at times ambiguous and given oxygen to election misinformation.
Appeals court allows Texas to withhold list of people it thinks are noncitizens and can’t vote
The appellate court reversed a previous ruling that found that Texas violated federal law by refusing to release the list. The suit was brought by five civil rights groups that sought to hold Texas accountable if it disenfranchised naturalized citizens.
Partisan spats over vote counting mean Harris County’s election results will likely be late again
Waiting for final results from Houston and Harris County has become an unwelcome Texas political ritual. The county’s sheer size is part of the problem, but so is party squabbling over counting procedures.
Partisan tactic by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign delays thousands of requests for mail-in ballots from Texas voters
Patrick’s mass mailing urging voters to apply for mail-in ballots included return envelopes addressed to the Texas secretary of state’s office. The applications are supposed to be sent to local offices, but Patrick’s campaign says voters don’t trust election officials in Democratic counties.
Vote-by-mail rejections are testing integrity of Texas Republicans’ voting law
With less than a month left to vote by mail in the March primary election, hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots are being rejected as both Texas voters and local election officials decipher new ID requirements enacted by Republican lawmakers.
First part of Texas’ 2020 election audit reveals few issues, echoes findings from review processes already in place
An initial review of four counties’ election results — launched after pressure from former President Donald Trump and touted by GOP leaders — showed few discrepancies between electronic and hand counts of ballots in a sample of voting precincts.
Texas’ renewed voter citizenship review is still flagging citizens as “possible non-U.S. citizens”
The secretary of state’s office says it is following the legal settlement agreement it entered in 2019 after botching its first review effort. But scores of citizens are still being marked for citizenship verification — and possible removal from the rolls.
Texas’ new secretary of state doesn’t deny Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, but he’s still prioritizing an election audit
John Scott briefly represented Donald Trump's legal effort to challenge the election results in Pennsylvania. In an interview, he said there’s no question that Joe Biden is the president and he has “not seen anything” to suggest the election was stolen.
Days after disclosing election “audits” in four Texas counties, secretary of state’s office gives some details of their scope
The state agency last week announced a “full forensic audit” in Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties. But based on details released Tuesday, it appears the scope of the effort may be more limited than what the term may suggest.
Texas county officials call election audits an unnecessary partisan ploy while voicing confidence in 2020 results
Officials in some counties targeted by audits accuse Republican Texas leaders of pandering to conspiracy theorists and undermining faith in elections. They also say the secretary of state’s office hasn’t provided details on what the audits entail.
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.
This is Texas' rule on selfies at polling stations
We understand documenting that you’ve voted is important to a lot of people — especially when you get that “I Voted” sticker. You should be proud of yourself for casting your vote, but know that there are strict rules in some places when it comes to taking pictures at polling places. Here in Texas, we have some of the stricter restrictions concerning photos while voting, according to the Texas Secretary of State website. And if you’re thinking of going old school and taking an actual camera, the same restrictions apply there. When in doubt, just wait until you’re back in your car to snap that “I Voted” sticker selfie.