Latest Contributions

• Churches are breaking the law and endorsing in elections, experts say. The IRS looks the other way.

  By Jeremy Schwartz and Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Oct. 30, 2022

  For nearly 70 years, federal law has barred churches from directly involving themselves in political campaigns, but the IRS has largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen about publicly backing candidates. Full Story 

• Tell us how religious organizations in your area involve themselves in elections

  By Jessica Priest and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Oct. 30, 2022

  Federal law bars churches and other nonprofit groups from endorsing candidates or helping to fundraise, but we know they regularly sidestep — or flat-out ignore — these rules. Help us identify examples. Full Story 

• Election administrators are under attack in Texas. Here’s what that means for the midterms.

  By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Oct. 17, 2022

  David Becker of The Center for Election Innovation & Research talks with The Texas Tribune and ProPublica about election official turnover and its impact on voting. Full Story 

• Texas’ law on gun background checks plagued by critical omissions of minors’ mental health records

  By Jeremy Schwartz and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica July 13, 2022

  Lawmakers tried in 2009 to require that the state report all court-ordered mental health hospitalizations to a federal gun background check system. Juveniles have been left out. Full Story 

• Settlement reached over private border wall, but experts say it won’t stop the environmental damage

  By Perla Trevizo and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica June 4, 2022

  Federal authorities have reached a deal that gives builders of the privately funded fence control over where to inspect for damage and leeway over which issues they choose to repair. Full Story 

• Why 18-year-olds can buy AR-15s in Texas but not handguns

  By Kiah Collier and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica May 26, 2022

  This week’s massacre in Uvalde highlights disparities in how federal laws regulate rifles and handguns. The shooter bought two rifles days after his 18th birthday. Full Story 

• Problems remain for We Build the Wall group after founder’s guilty plea

  By Jeremy Schwartz and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica May 2, 2022

  Air Force veteran Brian Kolfage faces more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to defrauding donors to the private wall effort. Full Story 

• North Texas superintendent orders books removed from schools, targeting titles about transgender people

  By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News March 23, 2022

  The Granbury superintendent’s comments, made on a leaked recording, raise constitutional concerns, legal experts said. Full Story 

• A push to remove LGBTQ-themed books in a Texas county could signal rising partisanship on school boards

  By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Feb. 7, 2022

  Hood County’s refusal to remove two books from the children’s section of the library sparked a yearslong political battle. Now school board races have taken on a deeply partisan tone, and elections serve as a purity test for far-right politics. Full Story 

• Trump won Hood County in a landslide. His supporters still hounded the elections administrator until she resigned.

  By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Oct. 12, 2021

  Michele Carew, an elections administrator with 14 years of experience, has resigned after a monthslong campaign by Trump loyalists to oust her. “I’m leaving on my own accord,” she said. Full Story