Abbott targeted two books that have been removed by schools recently that center on LGBTQ characters. One of the books includes a graphic illustration and the other includes depictions of sex.
Cassandra Pollock
Cassandra Pollock was a state politics reporter for the Tribune. She joined the Tribune full-time in June 2017 after a fellowship during the 85th Texas Legislature. Pollock spent her first two years at the Trib as an engagement reporter, which meant her name likely landed in your inbox every weekday morning with “The Brief,” a newsletter on all things Texas politics and public policy. Pollock is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. Pollock left The Texas Tribune in 2021.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Texas voters split on whether voting laws should be more strict, UT/TT Poll finds
The October poll found that the percentage of Democrats who said voting rules should be less strict increased significantly, with 64% of voters taking that position compared to the 51% in August.
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Politics
Justice Department sues Texas over new voting law, targeting restrictions on mail-in ballots and voter assistance
The elderly, voters with disabilities and voters with limited English proficiency risk disenfranchisement under sweeping legislation Texas Republicans pushed through earlier this year, the justice department argues in its legal challenge to Senate Bill 1.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Fights over the Alamo persist as George P. Bush seeks higher office
The redevelopment of the Alamo, which Bush oversees as land commissioner, has prompted pushback across the political spectrum.
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Politics
Gov. Greg Abbott chastises school board group with vague accusation of “pornographic images” in library books
Abbott’s letter comes on the heels of an inquiry launched by state Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican running for Texas attorney general. Krause sent a letter to certain school districts with an 850-book list that included novels about racism and sexuality.
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Politics
Texas lawmaker keeping mum on inquiry into what books students can access as school districts grapple with how to respond
Critics say state Rep. Matt Krause’s inquiry targets books about women, people of color and LGBTQ people. The lawmaker says providing specifics about his inquiry “could compromise a potential investigation.”
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Politics
Appeals court allows whistleblower lawsuit from former employees who accused Ken Paxton of bribery to proceed
The state 3rd Court of Appeals rejected the attorney general’s argument that the Texas Whistleblower Act doesn’t apply to him.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Five takeaways from Texas’ third special legislative session
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it?
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Texas Legislature 2021
Houston state Rep. Dan Huberty, who spearheaded Texas’ 2019 public education overhaul in Legislature, to retire
Earlier this year, Huberty was arrested in Montgomery County after he crashed his car into another vehicle and failed a sobriety test. The lawmaker was driving home from the Capitol in late April.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking
Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting.