Stories by Texas Tribune fellows

Voters in Harris County shattered the record for in-person ballots cast on the first day of early voting, with more than 128,000 people voting, according to the county elections office. Full Story 

Political parties are enlisting a record number of poll watchers in Texas and across the country for a highly charged election season. Full Story 

Texas business owners and unemployed residents feel like federal leaders of both parties are playing political games with their financial lives in the middle of a damaging recession. Full Story 

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 

Halfway through the semester, schools are reporting participation rates far below their goals, prompting at least one school to go so far as to offer prizes to students who volunteer to get a coronavirus test. Full Story 

Experts say the extension could help the historically undercounted state regain lost ground. Texans are already responding to the census at a substantially lower rate than the national average. Full Story 

Some police departments faced criticism for their response to demonstrations. Experts say officers must use "the least amount of force possible" while protecting free speech. Full Story 

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 

At the keynote event of the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival, Woodward discussed the process of reporting out his latest book on the Trump presidency. Full Story 

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, blamed “mixed messages that have come out of Washington” for waning public trust. Full Story 

The state is partnering with the Texas State University System to add roughly 200 new staffers to its stable of more than 3,500 contact tracers. Full Story 

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 

Health experts worry about testing shortages and crowded hospitals as flu season approaches in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story 

Much of the overtime cuts were reallocated for other purposes in the department, including more than $3.8 million to hire nearly 100 civilian workers. Other new spending will go toward addressing root causes of crime and improving street lighting. Full Story 

The freshman Republican has been undergoing treatment for cancer since 2019. Full Story 

The limited move, ordered by a federal judge, marks the first time Texans have been able to register to vote online. Full Story 

Five Texas Tribune political journalists answered questions on Reddit about the Nov. 3 general election. Full Story 

The board approved an annual salary of $795,000 for Hartzell as interim president in June. Full Story 

Shortly after Oracle — a California-based tech company with an Austin campus — emerged as a potential buyer last week, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that he had spoken to the president about Texas housing the possible new TikTok headquarters. Full Story 

Crenshaw, a freshman Republican from Houston, made the comments in an interview during The Texas Tribune Festival that aired Monday. He also discussed immigration and changing voting patterns in Houston. Full Story