U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says he’s “not really happy” with the way Ken Paxton has run the Texas attorney general’s office
Cornyn said the allegations against Paxton “need to be investigated.” Full Story
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![US Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and US Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speak to media following Texas Public Policy Foundation's annual policy orientation in Austin on Jan. 11, 2019]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas has made it easier and harder for people to vote in the pandemic
Voting rights groups say last-minute changes to the voting process in Texas have created confusion. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says he has expanded accessibility by allowing voters to submit mail-in ballots in person before Election Day. Full Story
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![People drop off their mail-in ballots at the Bexar County Elections Department in San Antonio on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says bars can reopen next week at 50% capacity if counties opt in
“It is time to open them up,” Abbott said in a Facebook video announcing the move. “If we continue to contain COVID, then these openings, just like other businesses, should be able to expand in the near future.” Full Story
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![A bartender waits for customers at Buck Wild on West Sixth Street in downtown Austin as bars reopen on May 22, 2020.]()
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Early voting can start Oct. 13 as scheduled, Texas Supreme Court rules
The Texas Supreme Court ruled against several GOP officials who pushed to keep early voting to a two-week period during the pandemic. Full Story
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![People wait outside the Bexar County Elections Department in San Antonio to drop off their mail-in ballots, voter registration applications or to be trained as poll workers on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Democratic leaders in Congress urge Gov. Greg Abbott to lift limit on mail-in ballot drop-off locations
The House members, all chairs of prominent committees, called Abbott’s order an apparent “last-ditch effort to suppress Texans’ ability to vote.” Full Story
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![The Travis County Tax Office at 5501 Airport Boulevard is now the only drive-thru location open for hand delivery of mail ballots in the county.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Ken Paxton faces a predicament familiar to Texas attorneys general
Four of the seven Texas attorneys general since 1972 have gone on to higher office, one stalled and one went to prison. Ken Paxton, the current AG, is in a situation now that could determine which way his career will go. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton receives an applause as he is sworn into office as Attorney General. Paxton replaced outgoing Attorney General Greg Abbott who was sworn in as Governor in 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Legislature meets in less than 100 days. Nobody knows how the session will look.
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to affect everyday life, Texas legislators know that it won't be business as usual at the Capitol during the 2021 legislative session. But how different things will be is still an issue they're working to resolve. Full Story
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![State Capitol in the late afternoon on June 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Greg Abbott’s latest retreat comes at the expense of Texas voters
Given the opportunity to make it easier to vote in Texas’ 2020 general election, to leave the election process alone or to make it harder to vote, the governor chose the third option. Full Story
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![A ballot drop-off location in Austin on Oct. 1, 2020, where voters can safely hand deliver their ballots by Election Day.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott limits counties to one absentee ballot drop-off location, bolstering GOP efforts to restrict voting
The Republican governor's order Thursday was a rebuke to large, Democratic counties that have set up numerous locations where voters may drop off their completed absentee ballots in person. Civil rights groups say it will suppress voting. Full Story
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![Frannie Griffin submits her ballot at Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas for the state’s runoff elections on July 14.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders hope rapid testing will restore normalcy in the pandemic. Health experts caution the tests have limitations.
Gov. Greg Abbott has touted that Texas is set to receive millions of new rapid antigen coronavirus tests every month that deliver results in as little as 15 minutes. Full Story
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![A student returns a nose swab after self-adminstering a COVID-19 test at the University of Texas at Austin on Sept. 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Republicans Shelley Luther, Drew Springer head to runoff in special election to replace state Sen. Pat Fallon
Much of the drama in the rapid-fire race had centered on Luther, a Dallas salon owner, and Springer, a state representative. Full Story
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![Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther and State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
State GOP Chair Allen West calls on Donald Trump to visit Texas before Election Day
“I’ve got the message up to him,” said Allen West, who took over as party chair in July. “I’d like to see the president come back to Texas one more time, especially come back to North Texas.” Full Story
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![Allen West at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24, 2016]()
Credit: Erich Schlagel for The Texas Tribune -
Houston Republicans sue to limit in-person and absentee voting options in Harris County
Conservative activist Steve Hotze and a number of Republican candidates and officials are asking the Texas Supreme Court to shorten the early voting period and limit drop-off locations for absentee ballots in the state’s largest Democratic county. Full Story
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![Mail-in ballot application.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Keep calm and vote on
Political people in high places are sowing doubt about voting and elections, making our 200-year-old system seem fraught with problems and even crime. Vote anyway. Full Story
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![From left, Catherine Harvey, Connie Ford, and Jean Anthony experiment scanning IDs through a plexiglass screen added to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 at a training lab at the Collin County Elections Department. June 23, 2020..]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas will spend $171 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to help renters avoid evictions
The new program will provide rental assistance and legal aid for tenants who are behind on rent. Details on how Texans could apply or qualify weren't immediately released. Full Story
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![An apartment complex near downtown Waco on Feb. 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
After Ginsburg’s death, high stakes for Texas’ legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act
Experts say the Supreme Court is unlikely to strike down the law in its entirety. Texas’ GOP leaders have yet to produce a promised plan to replace it. Full Story
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![Francisco Garcia arrives at Kelsey-Seybold clinic in Sugar Land to see his doctor Spencer Berthelsen for annual physical. Sept. 22, 2011.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Republican dissent over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's pandemic response animates state Senate special election
As Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther and state Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, continue to spar ahead of Tuesday's election, Luther directs some of her harshest criticism at Abbott. Full Story
![Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther and State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster.]()
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Analysis: Coronavirus splits Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his own party
Voting in the 2020 general election starts in Texas in less than three weeks. But the governor's responses to the coronavirus have strained Republican unity. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott puts on his mask during his press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg counties on July 28, 2020.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott wants to raise the stakes for protesters during a divisive Texas election
Abbott's campaign event came after a majority of likely Texas voters in a recent poll said that law and order is a bigger issue than the pandemic. Yet they were also more likely to say that racism in the criminal justice system is a larger problem than riots in American cities. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott meets with local leaders in El Paso to discuss the coronavirus situation in the city and state on Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Worried that flu season and coronavirus pandemic could overwhelm hospitals, health officials urge Texans to get flu shots
Health experts worry about testing shortages and crowded hospitals as flu season approaches in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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