Latest Contributions

• Texas voters turn out under sunny skies as pandemic and political divisions loom large over Election Day

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Nov. 3, 2020

  Clear skies across Texas ushered voters to the polls for a historic Election Day on Tuesday, even as a political storm hovers at the close of an anxious, divisive presidential election unlike any other. Full Story 

• Miles to go before they vote: Without absentee ballots, displaced Texans cross the country to vote at home

  by Karen Brooks Harper Oct. 30, 2020

  Worried because their absentee ballots never arrived, two American University students rented a Volkswagen Golf and drove 30 hours across half a dozen states to cast their votes in Texas this week. Full Story 

• Worried your mail-in ballot still hasn't arrived? Here's how to be sure your vote counts

  by Karen Brooks Harper Oct. 29, 2020

  If you're concerned that you haven't received your mail-in ballot, there are ways to be counted by showing up in person. Officials say ballots are still being sent out with less than a week before Election Day. Full Story 

• Texas' ability to run accessible, efficient elections is being tested this year. Will Bexar County flunk?

  by Karen Brooks Harper Oct. 27, 2020

  While other large urban counties have aggressively pushed to expand voting options amid the pandemic, Bexar County is pursuing a more modest approach. Some critics fear the result will be an Election Day logjam disenfranchising voters of color in San Antonio. Full Story 

• Texas can reject mail-in ballots over mismatched signatures without giving voters a chance to appeal, court rules

  by Karen Brooks Harper Oct. 19, 2020

  A federal judge had ordered the state to give voters a chance to resolve signature questions in time for their ballots to be counted. Now that won't happen unless counties do it voluntarily. Full Story 

• Harris County tried to make voting easier during the pandemic. Texas Republicans fought every step of the way.

  by Karen Brooks Harper and Emma Platoff Updated: Oct. 15, 2020

  In a bitterly contested election overlaid with the fears and risks of an uncontrolled pandemic, Harris County has become a case study in raw politics and partisan efforts to manipulate voter turnout. Full Story 

• Coronavirus restrictions and remote learning may hamper college student voter turnout

  by Karen Brooks Harper Sept. 25, 2020

  Campaigns, political organizations and students at schools across Texas say they’re worried and frustrated that pandemic health restrictions are stymying efforts to register and turn out students to vote. Full Story 

• Balancing higher health risks and spotty internet, reopening college in the Rio Grande Valley is a challenge

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Sept. 16, 2020

  At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school. Full Story 

• Texas universities blame off-campus parties for rising COVID-19 cases, but few are disciplining students

  by Karen Brooks Harper Sept. 8, 2020

  Schools, desperate to keep their doors open but worried about health risks to their students, are being put in the uncomfortable position of having to govern young adult behavior that is mostly happening off university property. Full Story