Analysis: In close elections, two opponents can be better than one
A Republican effort to knock 44 Libertarians off the ballot fell short, and that could have an outsize effect on close races in November. Full Story
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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
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![Voters check in with poll workers behind glass barriers at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center for the delayed primary runoff election in Houston on July 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Voting in Texas could be as easy as a trip to the grocery store
Some of the biggest private-sector companies in Texas adapted quickly to customer service during the pandemic. Unfortunately, they're not in charge of voting. Full Story
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![The Collin County Elections Department created a mock polling site to prepare poll workers for early voting beginning June 29. The polling site included newly added signs to inform voters and employees on how to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the voting process.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With schools opening, Texas enters a critical two weeks of the pandemic
Texas is poised right now as it was in late April: COVID-19 numbers are moving in the right direction, and reopenings — schools this time — are underway. Everyone's hoping for a different result this time. Full Story
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![Tubing in New Braunfels on July 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Some Texas voters are still uncertain, but so are the issues
Voters who still haven't decided which candidates to support in November might be uncertain for a good reason: The issues that would help them decide — pandemic, recession and all the rest — are shifting rapidly. Full Story
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![A man exits Toney Burger stadium in South Austin where early voting has begun for the July 14th runoff and special election, in Austin on June 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A weather map for Texas’ COVID-19 response
The state has disaster response down to a routine, ready to roll out whenever hurricanes and other bad weather strikes. But that coordination between state and local governments hasn't been the model for pandemic response. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Analysis: Those aren’t just COVID-19 numbers. They’re Texans.
There are 347,700 Texans losing federal supplements to unemployment insurance. And 716,000 students getting laptops and tablets for virtual school. And 11,395 COVID-19 deaths. Each statistic has a human face. Full Story
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![Elizabeth McNiel, the owner of Ironwood Saloon and an ASL teacher, and her husband Ryan in their empty bar in Sabinal, the only one in town. They shut it down because of COVID-19 mandates. Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Austin’s police cuts give Texas Republicans new campaign material
Texas Republicans who were looking for fertile political ground in the runup to the November elections got a gift from a most unlikely source: the Austin City Council. Full Story
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![The CIty of Austin seal inside Austin City Hall. Sept. 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With elections coming, Texas Republican leaders join the thin blue line
Freezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works. But the political angle taken by the state's top leaders gives them something other than pandemic and recession to talk about this election season. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard as the Austin Fire Department puts out a car that was set on fire by protesters in downtown Austin on May 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Watch the bottom of Texas ballots for political change — not the top
If the decadeslong Republican hold on Texas politics loosens, it might not be at the top of the ticket. Watch the federal and state legislative races, and where the money's going in those. Full Story
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![Joan Mooneyham and Barb Walters chat near polling machines set six feet apart at a training lab at the Collin County Elections Department .Collin County created a mock polling site with added protective measures against COVID-19 to prepare poll workers before early voting begins on June 29.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Voting in Texas is different from other places. It’s a hassle.
Lots of states make it as easy as possible to register and vote, whether there's a pandemic or not. Texas is not one of those states. Full Story
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![A Houston voter waits to cast his ballot on July 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune