Elections and Voting

Texas In 2016: Hillary Beats Rick Perry?

At some point, Texas will give up its status as a GOP guarantee. That seems the consensus, at least. A burgeoning Hispanic population, increasing transplants from California and New York, and a youth bubble surpassed by only Utah -- all signs point toward an eventual purpling of this putative Republ ... More >>

Doughbeezy, Chingo Bling, Niceguys Hope to Make Voting "Hip and Fun"

The election is coming, and even in such a polarizing political climate exemplified by Mitt Romney's "47 percent" remarks that dominated news about the presidential campaign last week, far too many people can't be bothered to vote. Disenfranchisement -- a $10 word that not only means you can't or ... More >>

Ted Cruz Is Here to Protect Texas from the UN

Texas Republican voters finally jumped to their senses Tuesday and followed the clarion call of Sarah Palin by electing Ted Cruz to the U.S. Senate over pallid insider David Dewhurst. The upset was the latest bit of rebellion from the Tea Party, adding to the footnotes that will be written in poli ... More >>

Whitest Man Alive Tries To Curry Favor With Blacks, Somehow Doesn't Succeed

Mitt Romney, the whitest Republican presidential nominee since every single Republican presidential nominee before him, informed an auditorium of black people at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People conference in Houston today that he, stilted awkward whiteness aside, knows ... More >>

Keith Judd: Texas Prisoner/Presidential Candidate Does Shockingly Well in West Virginia Primary

Majestically mulleted Texas prisoner-cum-presidential candidate Keith Judd has picked up 41 percent of the vote in West Virginia's Democratic primary. (We examined the Keith Judd phenomenon back before he was just a gleam in West Virginia's eye.) The Associated Press reports that Judd, serving time ... More >>

Feds Block Texas's Voter ID Law: Unfair to Hispanics, They Say

Texas's strict new voter ID law, put in place by this past session's Tea Party legislature to stem the tidal wave of voter fraud that is actually not happening at all, has been blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice. The new law unfairly targets Hispanic voters, the feds said. "[T]he state has ... More >>

The City Elections Are Coming (You Knew That, Right?) Take Our Quiz

Be proud​You were aware there's a citywide election Tuesday, right? You get the chance to elect a new mayor, councilmembers AND weigh in on vitally important proposed state constitutional amendments like whether El Paso County should be added to the list of counties authorized to create conser ... More >>

Rick Perry the Gunslinger: Report Released from Brady Campaign on Perry's Gun Record

Rick Perry the Gunslinger​Governor Rick Perry's love of guns has been well documented and he is more than happy to share his thoughts on the matter, particularly when it comes to killing a coyote on a morning jog and his affinity for laser sights on his weapons of choice. In Texas, loving you ... More >>

And Back Come the Red-Light Cameras, Starting...NOW!!

Back in business​Mayor Annise Parker announced today that the city will go back to enforcing red-light camera tickets immediately. Voters had tossed out the cameras in a referendum, but the company that operates them said they had a contractual deal to make their dirty cash from people who ev ... More >>

Kay Bailey Hutchison Retires: Five Career Highlights

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has announced she will not seek re-election to the Senate, probably a wise move after conservatives sensed blood in the water after her disastrous gubernatorial campaign. KBH's three terms in the Senate were somewhat odd in that she never made all that much of an impres ... More >>

Voter Intimidation Victim and Witness Come Forward, And Nov. 2 Looms Closer

Voter intimidation: everyone wants to shift the blame.​No one seems to want to play nice at the voting polls this year. And new names and organizations keep getting involved in the already over-crowded, controversial fray.King Street Patriots/The Tea Party. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The Te ... More >>

King Street "Patriots": Voter Intimidation Continues At Polling Stations Around Houston

Photo by Chasen MarshallIf the signs don't sway you, the poll watchers might.​Polling stations around Houston have turned into bastions of controversy this week: Fourteen reported incidents Monday and another that Hair Balls heard about on Wednesday in south Houston near Gulfgate. There are few d ... More >>

Electronic Voting: Harris County Is Scrambing After Warehouse Fire

R.I.P, little buddy​When Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman got a call from the fire department a little after 4 a.m. today telling her a giant warehouse holding nearly all of the county's voting machines had burned to the ground, she couldn't believe her ears."It's like losing a member of the fa ... More >>

You Won't Be Waiting Long If You Vote Today

​This item is by Chris Vogel, Craig Malisow and Blake Whitaker.It's 11 a.m. at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center. The expansive, modern facility is spotless, the voting computers are shiny new, and poll workers are lined up behind a rectangular table, organized and ready for action.Only thing is ... More >>

Candidate Jarvis Johnson Says It's Time to Move On From Sheila Jackson Lee

The Houston Press will be interviewing each of the main contenders in the 18th Congressional District race. This is the second interview of the series. Councilman Jarvis Johnson entered his campaign manager's office on a chilly Friday evening somewhere in the Heights with a large print mailer from ... More >>

Rejoice, Michael Jackson Fans: Sheila Jackson Lee Might Not Be As Vulnerable As She Appears

​The United States Congressional District 18 race just got a bit more exciting after Jarvis Johnson, the District B Houston City Councilmember, officially filed on Monday at Harris County Democratic Party Headquarters. Not to be outdone, Attorney Sean A. Roberts also decided to jump into the race ... More >>

Vote Early Starts Today; Avoid The Christmas Rush

​You know what you can do today that you couldn't do last week? Vote in the runoff.Early voting in the blistering mayoral race between Annise Parker and Gene Locke began this morning and continues until December 8.If you don't vote early, you're going to have to head to the polls on Saturday, Dece ... More >>

Harris County Becomes Democratic

Ain't No Party Like A Libertarian Party

The Early-Voting Rush Isn't Everywhere

Texas Votes 2008: In Chart Form!!

Tunnel Mole Hops On The Early-Voting Train

He's Baaack

Do We Finally Have a Republican Candidate Who Can Cure Bird Flu?

Displaced in the Diaspora

New Orleans mayoral candidates are looking for votes -- and finding them in Houston

Best Identity Crisis

In Search of Bogus Bill

How a would-be dirty trick became campaign comedy

Bad Blood on the Tracks

Metro's consulting becomes insulting for some Hispanic leaders

All Aboard the Love Train

Brown's last-minute signal keeps rail on track

Bush Envy

When Democrats try to impersonate Republicans, the results ain't pretty

Bye to the Good Ol' Boys?

The commissioner's race that could break the county mold

Runoff Worries

Brown duplicates 1997 showing, but Sanchez has the momentum

Cracking the Club

Latinos find little sympathy from Commissioners Court

Punched Out

Have patience: From the wrath of dangling chads comes computerized dial-a-voting

Does Not Compute

Loopholes still hamper electronic reporting of campaign finances

GOP Mayoral Pipe Dreams

West U rejected them, so how will they ever win Houston's City Hall?

First Out of the Gate

Now that he's got Mayor Lee Brown's attention, can Chris Bell win your support?

Fixing the Vote

After the election from hell, Texas lawmakers offer remedies (serious and otherwise)

2001: A Bell Mayoral Odyssey?

Councilman Chris tests the waters against Brown

Arena Wars

"Environmental Darth Vader" pushed as campaign consultant

Term Limits: The Next Generation

A fractious bunch fills the city ballot, but the blood flies in District H

The Insider

The Insider

The Insider

The Insider

Rules of the Game

The Insider

The Insider

Running at Lanier

Mayor Bob casts a long shadow over the Tyra-Peavy runoff

Betting on Seabrook's Future?

The city's mayor has a master plan to stop local gambling -- but he may be behind the tide