In Texas’ major counties, almost 99% of mail-in ballots were counted during the July primary runoff election, a Tribune analysis shows. But election officials say postal service disarray and a record number of requests mean people should ask for their absentee ballots well before November’s Election Day.
Alexa Ura
Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
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TribCast
TribCast: Texas and the DNC, the fight over police funding, and election mailing woes
On this week’s Tribcast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Alex and Ross about Texans’ role at the Democratic National Convention, a new front in the local control fight and what election mail concerns could mean for Texas.
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Demographics
Harris County joins federal lawsuit trying to extend time for U.S. census count
After the Trump administration announced an abrupt change to the census deadline, the largest county in Texas is among those suing to keep the count going until October.
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TribCast
TribCast: Reading the political tea leaves on Biden in Texas and a census undercount
On this week’s TribCast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Patrick and Cassi about the Biden campaign’s recent activity in Texas, the fallout of a census undercount and early indications of what the legislative session might look like in a pandemic.
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Demographics
An abrupt change to the census deadline shortened the response period by a month, increasing fears of an undercount in Texas
The Census Bureau on Monday lopped a month off the time people have to respond to the 2020 count. Texas is already lagging behind the country in response rates, with low-income and Hispanic Texans at high risk of being missed.
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TribCast
TribCast: Texas revises coronavirus death tally as school reopening chaos continues
On this week’s TribCast, Alexa talks to Ross, Aliyya and Emma about the state’s bad relationship with data and the latest pingponging guidance on how and when schools can reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Texas 2020 Elections
In a rare move, Texas Republicans tell President Trump “no” after he calls for delaying the election — something he’s not legally allowed to do
The president does not have the legal authority to move Election Day; that power resides with Congress.
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TribCast
TribCast: The post-convention state of the Texas GOP and a bleak budget forecast
On this week’s TribCast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Cassi and Ross about the Texas GOP’s convention chaos and how the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the state budget.
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Demographics
Trump pushes to exclude undocumented immigrants when congressional seats are divvied up next year
If it withstands legal challenges, the memo signed Tuesday by the president could cost Texas several seats in Congress. But it’s unclear what data would be used to parse undocumented immigrants from the overall population counts.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Wide-ranging lawsuit claims Texas’ in-person voting rules will disenfranchise Black, Latino voters during the pandemic
Two civil rights groups and two Texas voters are asking a federal judge to require substantial changes to polling place procedures, including an across-the-board mask mandate and expanded curbside voting.
