The latest demographics news from The Texas Tribune.
Like other states, Texas found out during the pandemic how critical high-speed broadband is for school, work and medicine. And the state is working to expand it — but it’s going to be at least a year before Texans start to see results. Full Story
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As Texas defends against accusations that its new political maps are discriminatory, it’s laying the groundwork to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out longstanding Voting Rights Act protections. Full Story
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The good news is that no rural hospitals in Texas have closed in the last two years. The bad news? They’re still in crisis mode, and the state government is still struggling to find a remedy. Full Story
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A group of students at Prairie View A&M University sued the county, claiming it set up an election schedule in 2018 that offered students — most of them Black — fewer opportunities to vote early than the county’s white residents. Full Story
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Texas, unlike all but 11 other states, hasn’t expanded its Medicaid program. And it also hasn’t addressed the problem that’s supposed to help solve: The state’s worst-in-the-nation ranking for people without health insurance. Full Story
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The Department of Family and Protective Services has been under federal court monitoring for over a decade for violating the civil rights of kids in foster care. Now, the short-staffed agency has to investigate parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care. Full Story
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Democrats in the region still had higher turnout, but Republicans celebrated the narrowing of the gap. Despite the improvement, nearly 87% of registered voters in the Rio Grande Valley did not vote in the primary, similar to the rate in 2018. Full Story
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A week into early voting in the Texas party primaries, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launched his latest culture-war volley, an attack on college professors whose teachings about race don’t match his notions about what they should be teaching. Full Story
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On this first day of early voting in the Democratic and Republican primaries, take a moment to think through the issues — whether the candidates are talking about them or not — before you cast your ballot. Full Story
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The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year. Full Story
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Job growth in the state, driven by population gains, has outpaced the rest of the country in recent months, according to recent federal data. Full Story
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With less than five weeks left in the primary election season, there is no shortage of political issues to debate. But most of the political conversation isn’t about the election. Full Story
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Abbott promises a “parental bill of rights” amendment to the Texas Constitution. Current education code already provides an array of parent protections when it comes to schools. Full Story
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News of Congregation Beth Israel hostages' safe escape is met with intense relief, but communities feel pain and fear over the latest in a series of antisemitic attacks and incidents in Texas and beyond. Full Story
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The new year comes with a new election — and with familiar challenges to the way Texans vote and have their votes counted. Full Story
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Texas expects to resettle the second-highest number of Afghan refugees in the United States. Full Story
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Here are a dozen of my columns from 2021: highlights on the winter storm, redistricting, the state’s finances and on issues that could figure into this next round of elections. Full Story
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Texas politics in 2021 were marked by a violent insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and state legislative fights over abortion, voting rights and redistricting. Our photojournalists were there every step of the way. Full Story
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After nearly two years of navigating life during a pandemic, many Texans are now scrambling for COVID tests, delaying plans and worrying about relatives who have been exposed to the virus. Full Story
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Dallas-area Latinos hoped their growing numbers would finally translate into political clout this year through the creation of a new congressional district anchored by their communities. Instead, their neighborhoods were splintered between numerous white-majority districts. Full Story
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