Analysis: Texas legislators aren’t ready to take self-interest out of redistricting
In Texas, the Legislature draws political maps — with results that predictably favor the party in power. Do independent commissions do any better? Full Story
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![Salman Bhojani, a former candidate for Texas Senate District 9, shows where he lives on an updated map that now draws him out of District 9 and now into District 2, at his offices in Irving, on Oct. 17, 2021. Bhojani suspended his campaign after state legislature adopted new district maps which draws Bhojani's home out of District 9.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas 2021 constitutional amendment election results
Unofficial results show that Texas voters approved eight amendments to the state Constitution. Full Story
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![Early Voting site at the Toney Burger Stadium in South Austin on June 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Republican John Lujan wins special election runoff to flip Texas House seat in San Antonio
Republicans saw flipping the seat as a way to make headway into South Texas, where Democrat Joe Biden underperformed last year. Full Story
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![John Lujan, Republican nominee for House District 118, speaks to reporters at an election night watch party in San Antonio on Nov. 2, 2021.]()
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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. Full Story
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![An Alamo Ranger guards the Alamo on the evening of Jan. 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribune -
It’s Election Day in Texas. Here’s what voters are deciding.
Texas voters will decide on eight proposed changes to the state’s Constitution. Voters in the San Antonio area will pick a new Texas House member. And Austin voters will decide whether to require more police officers. Full Story
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![Voters wait in line outside Cody Public Library in San Antonio during the evening hours of Election Day on Oct. 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Clint Datchuk for The Texas Tribune -
“A pivotal day”: Texas abortion law’s Supreme Court hearings spur hope for some, fear for others
Anti-abortion groups and reproductive rights activists faced off outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it heard Texas' abortion case. Full Story
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![People wearing Handmaid's costumes stand outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference in Dallas on unaccompanied minors crossing the southern border on March 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Carly May for The Texas Tribune -
Evan Young, former clerk to conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, appointed to Texas Supreme Court
Young replaces former Justice Eva Guzman, who resigned in June ahead of a campaign for attorney general. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Former ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza decides to run for attorney general after redistricting upends congressional campaign
Garza, a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, had been running to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville. U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, is now running for Vela's seat after redistricting made Gonzalez's seat more competitive for Republicans. Full Story
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![ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza has announced she will be running for Texas Attorney General.]()
Credit: Rochelle Garza Campaign -
Analysis: With grades like these for political maps, Texas won’t be making the honor roll
The new political maps drawn by Texas Republicans have run into some criticism from academics studying gerrymandering. That puts the Texans in the same boat with Illinois Democrats. Full Story
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![The Texas capitol on May 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
How today’s near-total abortion ban in Texas was 20 years in the making
Since 2000, Texas lawmakers have reduced the number of abortions in the state by restricting access to the procedure. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Special election runoff on Tuesday for Texas House seat in San Antonio carries high stakes for both parties
The race pits Republican John Lujan against Democrat Frank Ramirez for the Democratic-leaning seat that former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, vacated earlier this year. Full Story
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![Democrat Frank Ramirez and Republican John Lujan are headed into a runoff election for House District 118.]()
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Texas sues the Biden administration over federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott have been at war with locals and federal officials over vaccinate mandates. Earlier this month, Abbott expanded an executive order to block the requirement for any entity in Texas, including health care facilities and private businesses. Full Story
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![Joseph Situentes Peña, 13, receives his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic held in partnership between the Central Texas Food Bank and University of Texas in Austin on July 21, 2021.]()
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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." Full Story
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![Teacher Melissa Perry reads to her fifth grade class at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley on September 4, 2020.]()
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Congressional Democrats ask feds to investigate whether Texas migrant arrests violate constitutional rights
Under a Gov. Greg Abbott initiative, more than 1,600 migrants have been arrested for allegedly trespassing on private property after crossing the Texas-Mexico border. The arrests and subsequent imprisonment of the migrants have led to state law violations and constitutional concerns. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of Public Safety official makes an arrest near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio as a group of migrants watched on July 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Matt Krause’s campaign for attorney general comes with a reading list
State Rep. Matt Krause, a Republican candidate for attorney general, wants public schools to explain some of the books in their libraries. He's got questions about content, along with a way to get some attention from voters. Full Story
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![State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, reads proposed legislation while on the House floor on July 29, 2021.]()
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For Texans who want a child but have difficult pregnancies, the new abortion law just made that journey even harder
Genetic screenings can help determine if a fetus will have certain conditions — or even be viable. But those usually occur at the end of the first trimester, long after Texas' new abortion law bans people from terminating their pregnancies. Full Story
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![Kendra Joseph poses for a portrait outside her home in San Antonio on Oct. 22, 2021. After several complications trying to have a second child ñ including one pregnancy that was diagnosed with the life-threatening Edwards Syndrome ó Joseph speaks out about her ìgray areaî experience and how sheís an opponent of the SB 8 abortion law.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ new secretary of state doesn’t deny Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, but he’s still prioritizing an election audit
John Scott briefly represented Donald Trump's legal effort to challenge the election results in Pennsylvania. In an interview, he said there’s no question that Joe Biden is the president and he has “not seen anything” to suggest the election was stolen. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz delays dozens of President Joe Biden’s ambassador nominations, stoking feud over national security
Cruz has single-handedly delayed dozens of key State Department nominees in retaliation for a Biden decision to drop U.S. opposition to a Russian pipeline to Germany. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on "Big Data, Big Questions: Implications for Competition and Consumers" in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21, 2021.]()
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Analysis: Maps bolster Republicans in the Texas Senate, especially the top one
The new political maps drawn by the Texas Senate don't just favor Republicans; that much was expected from a Republican majority. The maps help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pick which Republicans he wants in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speak at a press conference held regarding Democrats breaking quorum and voting legislature at the Texas Capitol on July 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune
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