The bipartisan legislation was long sought by advocates for disabled voters, including some of the governor’s own allies.
Natalia Contreras
Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She has covered a range of topics as a community journalist including local government, public safety, immigration and social issues. Natalia previously reported for the Austin American-Statesman, focusing on impacts of government policies on communities of color. Natalia previously worked at the Indianapolis Star, where she helped launch the first Spanish-language newsletter, and at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. She was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas in Mexico and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is based in Corpus Christi.
Posted in
Politics
Tarrant County picks deputy county clerk to run elections, eschewing GOP activist
The county’s Election Commission unanimously appointed Clinton Ludwig to the job. None of the three finalists had any election administration experience.
Posted in
Politics
GOP donor, voter fraud activist is a finalist to run elections in Tarrant County
Karen Wiseman previously sued former election administrator Heider Garcia and participated in a right-wing group’s search for 2020 voter fraud. She’s one of the three finalists, none of whom have experience running elections.
Posted in
2023 Session Recap
Texas is set to improve in-person and mail-in voting for people with disabilities
Voters with disabilities have been pushing for more accessibility for years. This legislative session two bills gained bipartisan support.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Harris County elections face state intervention under new Texas voting laws
The bill’s sponsor says greater oversight is needed for Texas’ largest county as county officials have vowed to fight the legislation in court.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Legislature averts $100 million consequences of 2021 law requiring nonexistent election technology
Lawmakers voted unanimously to reverse the 2021 provision that would have decertified equipment that counties use to count votes.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate again approves increasing penalty for illegal voting to a felony, regardless of intent
The House and Senate bills had differed on whether someone should be punished for voting by mistake. Now the two chambers must reach an agreement.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Texas set to exit multistate program that cleans voter rolls
The multistate program, ERIC, is considered by election administration experts across the country to be the best tool for preventing double voting across state lines. It has been the target of conspiracy theories.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Harris County must remove its elections chief under new legislation headed to Gov. Greg Abbott
The Republican-led House also approved a bill that would give the secretary of state new authority to investigate complaints in Harris County. The Senate must review changes to that bill before it becomes law.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
After a setback, a GOP effort to get Texas out of a multistate coalition to clean voter rolls could move forward
The legislation — backed by some of the state’s prominent believers in voter fraud — was unexpectedly killed by its House sponsor Tuesday. On Wednesday, he asked for it to be reconsidered.
