Why does Texas have so many elections, and why do few people vote in them?
The high number of contests contributes to the state’s low voter turnout — but it’s not the only reason. Full Story
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![A voter casts their ballot at the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center in Austin on the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters are able to cast their ballots early until Oct. 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Comptroller, railroad commissioner, lieutenant governor: What do Texas state officials actually do?
For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them. Full Story
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![A graphic that reads, "Texas Office Glossary" above a collection of voting stickers.]()
Credit: Emily Albracht for the Texas Tribune -
Texas reduces National Guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star border mission
Abbott said there’s over 5,000 guard members still assigned to the border. He initially said he had deployed 10,000. Full Story
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![Asylum-seeking migrants walk as they are escorted by National Guard officers, after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, at Eagle Pass on July 26, 2022.]()
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In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets
Gov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer. Full Story
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![Giddings State School, a Texas Juvenile Justice Department correctional facility, in Lee County on July 20, 2022.]()
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Along the Texas-Mexico border, GOP enthusiasm mounts as Democrats defect over immigration concerns
Among voters near the Texas-Mexico border, immigration and border security are a leading cause for flipping from Democrat to Republican. Full Story
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![Judge Dale Carruthers looks over the Rio Grande at the edge of her 17,000 acre property. Last year, a hunter stumbled upon the body of a migrant on her property.]()
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Tesla among surge of companies rushing to take advantage of Texas’ expiring tax incentive program
The Chapter 313 program was designed to draw business to the state, but critics say it lacks accountability and unduly burdens taxpayers. Tesla and other companies hope to take advantage of the tax incentive ahead of the program’s expiration at the end of the year. Full Story
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![Tesla's gallery and service center on Westheimer Road in Houston on Oct. 14, 2021.]()
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DPS Director Steve McCraw tells CNN he’ll resign if troopers had “any culpability” in delayed Uvalde shooting response
The state’s top law enforcement agency has publicly criticized the actions of local police during the May shooting at Robb Elementary. But McCraw’s agency has also faced scrutiny for officers’ delay in confronting the gunman. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw speaks during a news conference outside of Robb Elementary school, three days after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults in a mass shooting, in Uvalde on May 27, 2022.]()
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Texas could tie community college funding to student outcomes
A commission tasked by the Texas Legislature to recommend new ways to fund community colleges is suggesting the state fund schools based on how successful students are at completing programs in high-demand fields and transferring to universities to continue their education. Full Story
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![Edward Montoya and Serena Smith walk through Houston Community College – Central Campus on April 26, 2022, in Houston.]()
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Politics and pandemic are driving Texas teachers to consider quitting, survey finds
An online survey of 1,291 teachers by the Charles Butt Foundation shows more teacher dissatisfaction as Texas school districts scramble to attract talent. Full Story
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![At the Advanced Learning Academy at Euclid in San Antonio, second grade students read while their teacher works individually with students. (Starting bottom, then moving clockwise) Samantha Vandervort , Gabriel Lopez, Saiki Rosas, Kyle Perez (in chair) John Schweers (in chair), Tristan Poujol and Matthew Sanchez. Bexar County's school districts are among the most segregated in the state, with boundary lines historically drawn to consolidate resources. San Antonio ISD is working to create more socioeconomic and racial diversity through public school choice measures.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Democrat Mike Collier embraces his GOP past as he tries to unseat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislature’s hard-right turn in recent years. Full Story
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![Mike Collier, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks at campaign event at Whitestone Brewery on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021 in Cedar Park.]()
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Religious employers need not cover PrEP in their health plans, federal judge rules
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling could threaten access to sexual and reproductive health care for more than 150 million working Americans on employer-sponsored health care plans. The ruling will likely be appealed. Full Story
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![A PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) medication.]()
Credit: ABACA via Reuters Connect -
91 Texas state troopers responded to the Uvalde massacre. Their bosses have deflected scrutiny and blame.
State troopers outnumbered local law enforcement 2-to-1 outside Robb Elementary, but the Department of Public Safety has blocked the release of records and carefully shaped the narrative to cast local authorities as incompetent. Full Story
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![A family looks over a chain-link fence towards the back door of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 30, 2022. The 18-year-old gunman entered through this door and opened fire on a classroom, killing 19 students and two teachers.]()
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Ted Cruz says he will vote against bill to codify same-sex marriage protections
On an episode of his podcast Tuesday, the U.S. senator said the bill would be an attack on religious liberties. Full Story
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![U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX, leaves a U.S. Senate classified briefing on the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, at Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
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Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding voters he’s a Republican ahead of his November election
Hegar, who is running for his third term as Texas comptroller of public accounts, has made increasingly provocative moves in recent weeks, challenging financial companies he says are anti-oil and gas and threatening budget sanctions against Harris County over police funding. Full Story
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![Republican Comptroller candidate Glenn Hegar speaks with Evan Smith at TribLive on May 29, 2014.]()
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Beto O’Rourke confronts a formidable GOP firewall as he woos rural Texans
Despite its dwindling population, rural Texas has consistently helped protect GOP dominance in statewide races, even as Democratic support grows in the state’s populous metro centers and suburbs. Full Story
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![Gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke spekas to attendees at a town hall in Abilene on Aug. 16, 2022.]()
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Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office calls Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing strategy “racist”
Abbott late Wednesday announced Chicago would be a new destination for migrants bused from Texas in his strategy to draw attention to the influx of people at the southern border. Chicago leadership welcomed the migrants “with dignity and respect.” Full Story
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![Two buses transporting migrants from Texas arrive at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on April 21, 2022. Gov. Greg Abbott’s new plan in response to the end of Title 42, a pandemic-era emergency health order which allowed immigration authorities at the border to deny entry.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
A conservative school district and Texas lawmaker try to outmaneuver efforts to subvert “In God We Trust” law
After protesters solicited donations to distribute posters to schools across the state in Arabic, state Sen. Bryan Hughes sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency clarifying his legislation requiring schools to display signs with the national motto. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, attends a press conference regarding Democrats breaking quorum and voting legislature at the Texas Capitol on July 21, 2021.]()
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Abbott says raising the age to buy an assault-style rifle is “unconstitutional” based on recent court rulings
The gunman in Uvalde bought two AR-15-style rifles days after he turned 18, the legal purchasing age in Texas, and used the weapons to kill 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a presser at Uvalde High School on May 27, 2022.]()
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Texas’ child welfare agency told staffers to keep quiet about gender-affirming care investigations, documents show
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
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Texas gas companies face fines up to $1 million for failing to prepare for extreme weather
Critics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021. Full Story
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune
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