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Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
State Rep. Briscoe Cain was named chair of the House Elections Committee months after traveling to Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign challenge the results of the 2020 election. Full Story
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The Census Bureau revealed Wednesday that the detailed results lawmakers need to reconfigure congressional and state legislative districts won’t be available until at least two months after the end of the regular 2021 legislative session. Full Story
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President Donald Trump's efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional representation are out with his administration. But Texas lawmakers still face delays in receiving census results needed to redraw the state's political maps. Full Story
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When the 2021 legislative session begins Tuesday, three of every five lawmakers in the state House and Senate will be white and just 27% of seats will be held by women. Full Story
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Joining several other U.S. senators, Cruz is calling for an emergency audit of election results in “disputed states,” despite no evidence of widespread election fraud. Full Story
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Harris County's plan to send applications for mail-in ballots to all its voters was cleared by an intermediate appeals court, but it remains on hold until the Texas Supreme Court can rule. Full Story
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The Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to temporarily halt the county’s mailing of applications while the case is appealed. A separate order blocking the effort was set to end this week. Full Story
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Democrats successfully sued last month to remove from the ballot the Green Party nominees for U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission and the 21st Congressional District. Full Story
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State district judge R.K. Sandill rejected the state's request for a temporary injunction to bar Harris County from pursuing its mailing plan. Full Story
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The Texas Democratic Party had challenged the state's age limits on voting by mail, arguing that they violated the 26th Amendment's protections against voting restrictions that discriminate based on age. Full Story
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