A week is a lifetime in politics and this can radically change, but if the governor wasnt hurt by what happened with the electric grid and the winter storm in February and for the most part, he seems to have not been hurt by it its probably the same kind of calculations here when it comes to the masking order and mandatory versus voluntary vaccinations, Taylor said. Instead, Hidalgo said, the comptroller should have calculated on the basis of pay periods rather than the number of months. So, until I hear otherwise, it is my contention that these provisional ballots are not enough to alter any races result, and also that this doesnt matter because all of the ballots should be counted. If that does not happen, the county will resume the suit and well let the courts decide.. His math was wrong then and its wrong now.. As the district court already determined, this law is unconstitutional and prevents election officials from encouraging people to vote by mail, including our seniors, our neighbors with disabilities, and our active-duty service members. To vote by mail in the primary, Texas voters must request mail ballot applications between January 1, 2022, and February 18, 2022. There are apparently 2,100 provisional Election Day ballots in question, out of 2,555 total E-Day provisionals and 2,420 that included a vote in this race. The Texas Transportation Commission is scheduled to approve the UTP at its Aug. 30 meeting. Change, Waiver This event transpired months ago and the officers who came to my house had me believe that I would be aware of any charges that evening by phone, however, I did not receive a call. Let me start off by saying that my heart breaks for everyone in Uvalde. The same way that the Secretary of State is deputizing these people in his office to speak on behalf of the Secretary of State on statutory matters, to perform his statutory duties, the elections administrator is deputizing individuals to carry out duties and responsibilities and functions that are otherwise prescribed to be discharged by the elections administrator, Birnberg said. I appreciate that Mayor Turner, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, Judge Hidalgo, Commissioners Ellis and Garcia, County Attorney Menefee, and everyone Im forgetting eventually had to say Yes to a sincere and meaningful counteroffer. They asked Biery to rule no later than Feb. 14, noting that to cast a mail-in ballot in the primaries, voters must fill out and return an application between Jan. 1 and Feb. 18. Seriously, this was a fine performance by the Elections Office. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. However, Gerald Birnberg, an elections attorney and General Counsel to the Harris County Democratic Party, questioned the Secretary of States logic, pointing out that its own office deputizes others to perform certain duties. This is the state house district in which I ran back in 2018 and 2020. The Chron story, from a bit later in the day, has more details. Premiums are, in some cases, documented in the public record. See here (scroll down) for the background. The county's position on his determination that the county defunded the Precinct 5 Constable's Office has not changed. While Ingram was on the stand, Rodriguez presented him with hypothetical interactions between Longoria and voters, asking if she could recommend voting by mail to someone who appeared to qualify. Divorce, Separation . Those ballots were cast after a district court judge ordered Harris County polling places to remain open an extra hour because many locations had opened late that morning. Menefee said Paxtons opinion directly contradicts a separate opinion his office issued last month, as well as an opinion issued by the AGs office more than 30 years ago, which both concluded that ballots are confidential for 22 months following an election. The new rule is at odds with how Claiborne, whose license the board renewed ahead of the most-recent vote, plans to conduct her business, according to the court documents. The County Attorneys office, however, said it had no information that anyone had attempted to misrepresent themselves as public employees, which would be illegal. The County will participate in the case, and we plan to make clear that it would be a grave injustice to throw out more than a million legally cast votes, especially given Ms. Luncefords completely baseless theories. Thats what we need to aim for. The lawsuit follows the approval by the Harris County Bail Bond Board to require bondsmen to take in 10 percent or more of the surety bond minimum set by a judge or magistrate to make it more difficult for violent offenders to leave jail and go on to commit more crime. Reconsidering how the project will incorporate, Mark Montgomery, former candidate forHarris County Criminal Court at Law No. Texas has a primary election on March 1, 2022. It will only work when communication between the parties is good enough for them to engage in a discussion without arguments, no serious power imbalance between the parties exist, and full transparency of financial matters is available. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee Tuesday denied Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegars announcement that county officials are attempting to resolve the defunding claims Hegar made earlier this month. Id like to see enough of the concerns raised by the plan opponents be addressed in a way that theyre willing to let the project move forward. (Any lawyers out there that want to help, by all means please do.). Service, Contact More than 1 million Texans used vote-by-mail during the 2020 presidential election and more than 850,000 of those ballots came from people 65 and older, according to the Texas Division of Elections. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. This affects no one accused of the most minor, nonviolent offenses who would be stuck in jail because they arent able to pay.. The Press has more. Steer clear of days of lost time seeking the internet and dropped money on documents that arent updated. A decision by a dissenting [opinion] of the court, while sometimes correct, Ariens said, is not as helpful as a decision from a majority of the court., But getting the temporary restraining order granted in the first place puts San Antonio and Bexar County in a stronger position, he said, as it allowed the city to get a mask mandate in place in public schools and public facilities. See here for the background. 1 went into effect on December 2, 2021. The law is clear that these voted ballots are confidential and its a crime for anyone to access them unless authorized by law.. But the states highest civil court also ordered Harris County to determine whether those late-cast ballots would affect the outcome of any races and kept alive Attorney General Ken Paxtons challenge to counting them. She is the Harris County District Attorney in Texas and assumed office in 2017. Herman 0 96,574 0 518,009 The poll watcher complained to the Harris County GOP, who called the Secretary of State, who called Icsezen and said he was wrong, the poll watcher needed to be allowed in to observe the SVC. Further, the EAs Office discussed the plan for both May elections with both political parties as early as April 7. But with blessing of local, state and federal elected officials, it is likely TxDOT and the FHWA could come to a separate agreement and work could proceed, people involved in the deal said. A judge blocked the initial attempt as well. The letter, from the law firm Odelson, Sterk, Murphey, Frazer & McGrath is addressed to five of the 11 candidates for ethics board: David Carrabotta, Lisa Emmett Stechman, David Laske, Joy Alfonsi . Judge Weems is represented by John Raley. They elicit strong backlash from residents who often already know what its like to live by one. Though not a guarantee of funding or a commitment to build the projects listed, it details what the state plans to do. See here for the background. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. That included an 88-year-old voter whom Morgan would typically call at the start of every year to remind her that she has to reapply for mail-in ballots. A federal district judge granted the motion, which would have applied to the primaries, and Im willing to bet would have helped ease the confusion that led to all of those rejected mail ballots, but the Fifth Circuit, as is their wont, put a hold on the injunction. Paxtons opinion, which doesnt stem from any change to state law, theoretically permits anyone an aggrieved voter, activist or out-of-state entity to request access to ballots as soon as the day after they are counted. For suggestions or comments regarding this site please email us at An essential component of the central counting station is the physical delivery of sealed ballot boxes and access to the central counting station is necessary (for) that process to take place, the filing states. As to who might file a contest, again well have to see. The Department of Justice haschallengedS.B. Several other provisions of SB 1 have been challenged ina half-dozenlawsuitsby civil rights groups and theBiden administrations Justice Department,includingbans on 24-hour and drive-thru voting, ID requirements for mail-in ballots andprotections for partisan poll watchers. If I trusted them before I have no reason not to trust them now. The fee cant be lowered due to appearance of impropriety issues. Access to quality Texas Attorney Vacation Form templates online with US Legal Forms. Well just have to keep an eye on that. 11 Cause No. With fewer people needing bail bonds because fewer people were being assessed bail, bail bond companies saw their revenues decline and so they looked for new customers by lowering their fees so as to entice those who were still being required to pay bail but couldnt afford their fees. Sales, Landlord This happened to Rob Icsezen, the host of the H-Town Progressive podcast and a Democratic appointee of the Early Voting Ballot Board and Signature Verification Committee for the 2020 election. Voters have moved on. Our election workers should not have to fear being criminally prosecuted because the attorney general wants to play politics and try to rewrite laws, Menefee said. The anti-solicitation provision makes it unlawful for a public official or election official while acting in an official capacity to knowingly . The amount of evidence theyd need to provide to come close to justifying such an ask, I cant even begin to comprehend. This 11th-hour ask to throw those votes away should not be tolerated, especially considering the State rejected the Countys offer to hold off on counting these votes while it sought clarification from the Supreme Court, Werner added. Greg Abbott expanded early voting for an additional week to allow more people concerned about COVID-19 to vote before Election Day. Menefees office asked the EPA to stop any new standard concrete batch plant permits from being issued until the investigation is finished, he said. The restriction applies to any program intended to systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters, including general mailings and door to door canvasses, according to the Justice Department. His math is wrong. From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: @TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges., Austin Statesman (@statesman) 9:30 AM 6 February 2022. Guide, Incorporation This one was filed on December 10, and if there was any news coverage of it I am not able to find it. The remedy, if they somehow win on these laughable claims, would be to redo the entire damn election. About | See here for the background. Hopefully we will hear more about how this is progressing quickly.