The bill would reduce the minimum number of polling places that Texas counties must have, rolling back a 2023 law that created challenges for election administrators.
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
Texas Legislature 2025
Requiring voters to prove citizenship spurs concern that eligible Texans won’t be able to cast ballots
Democrats and other critics say Texas legislation threatens to keep citizens who can’t easily access the right documents from voting.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas lawmakers consider barring counties from mailing unsolicited voter registration forms
Voting rights advocates worry that legislation approved by House and Senate committees could make it harder to get more people on the rolls.
Posted in
Politics
Election officials wary of shift to Texas’ centralized voter-registration system
Some lawmakers say a bill requiring counties to switch to TEAM would make it easier to monitor voter rolls. But the system has had its problems.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill
The proposal would require counties who opt for hand counts to use ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by a voting machine.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Bill requiring voters to show proof of citizenship clears Texas Senate
Senate Bill 16 would create new barriers for voters and new burdens for election officials.
Posted in
Politics
Voting-rights coalition quits challenge to Texas’ 2021 redistricting after court setback
The remaining plaintiffs in the case are organizations representing Latino and Black voters, with a trial set to begin May 21.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Republican lawmakers revive effort to give attorney general more power to prosecute election crimes
Critics fear increased election prosecutions could intimidate voters and local election officials. Attorney General Ken Paxton has long sought more autonomy over election cases.
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Politics
DOJ drops fight against Texas political maps as Trump administration retreats from voting rights cases
The Biden administration had challenged a Republican-led redistricting plan that diluted the political power of minorities. Other legal challenges will continue.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Senate majority unveils bill requiring voters to prove their citizenship
All 20 GOP senators signed on to Senate Bill 16, which would apply to currently registered voters, and restrict some to only congressional elections.
