Beyond the classroom: does Texas even have a plan for all school employees?
As schools begin to open around the state of Texas, there has been a raging debate about the safety of students and teachers. Lost in this discussion are the hundreds of the other school employees, including custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and other...
Harris County joins lawsuit against Abbott to expand vote-by-mail
Harris County Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday to join a lawsuit by Texas Democrats suing Gov. Greg Abbott to expand vote-by-mail in Texas. The Democratic-led commissioners court voted 3-2 to join the lawsuit. The litigation seeks to allow all Texas voters to cast...
Confusing instructions leave Texas educators with many questions
With the start of the fall semester underway, school staff members all across Texas and the country are attempting to adjust to an unusual school year during COVID-19. Schools are reopening—some are holding classes virtually while most are having to open for in-person...
A short guide to Texas’ eviction policies during the pandemic
The federal moratorium on evictions expired on July 24th and President Trump’s executive order does little to help renters. Around 20 million Americans are now at risk of being evicted from their homes. Like many other issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem...
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warns local counties can’t delay evictions
Responding to an inquiry by Republican state lawmakers, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an opinion warning that local governments do not have the authority to delay or stop evictions. Paxton said local governments are granted extra powers during a...
Texas Democrats ramp up vote-by-mail efforts
The Texas Democratic Party launched a new fund on Monday that will be used to send 1.75 million mail-in ballot applications by November. The party said it will start by sending more than 815,000 vote-by-mail applications to eligible voters in August, according to a...
Texas sees new peak in COVID-19 infection rate
State coronavirus data reported over the weekend is a mixed bag for Texas. The seven-day moving average for the share of COVID-19 tests that come back positive, also known as the state’s infection rate, reached 20 percent on Saturday. That means out of the tens of...
Republican ad confuses Texas Dem Joe Moody with North Carolina lawmaker
A negative ad released this week by the Republican State Leadership Committee attacking Democrats has confused two state legislators from Texas and North Carolina. The ad warns of gerrymandering efforts by radical liberals while flashing images of Rep....
Bexar County commissioner lays out a plan for safe voting in November
A commissioner in Bexar County has penned a letter to the county judge detailing some of the preparations needed to vote safely in November. Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said the San Antonio area county should hire additional election workers, provide PPE...
From Blue Texas to the Lincoln Project: PACs look to turn Texas blue
In yet another ominous sign for his reelection campaign’s chances in the Lone Star state, Donald Trump and company woke up to more unwelcome news this morning: A new Democratic super PAC is looking to give former Vice President Joe Biden a boost in the general...
Red States are passing Medicaid expansion, why can’t Texas?
On Tuesday, Missouri became the 38th state to expand Medicaid, opening healthcare to over 230,000 Missourians. It joins a lengthy list of GOP-led states in expanding healthcare, including Nebraska, Utah, and Oklahoma. Meanwhile in Texas we still lead the country in...
Poll shows Candace Valenzuela leads race to fill open GOP congressional seat
Democratic candidate Candace Valenzuela appears to be comfortably ahead in her race to flip a vacated GOP congressional seat in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Valenzuela leads Republican candidate Beth Van Duyne by a seven percentage point margin, 48 to 41 percent,...
Progressive reformers won big in Travis County. What’s next for the criminal justice system?
“On day one, we’re going to end the prosecution of low-level drug offenses in Travis County,” said José Garza, the Democratic nominee for Travis County District Attorney (DA), at a virtual briefing with The Appeal and NowThis News. In committing to end the prosecution...
Cornyn narrowly leads Hegar in new poll, as DSCC invests money in senate race
In a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday, Senator John Cornyn now narrowly leads Democratic opponent MJ Hegar by 6 points, a 3-point drop from a Quinnipiac poll in July. This is the smallest lead Cornyn has had in a public poll thus far. The Democratic Senatorial...
Op-Ed: The Pandemic is an Opportunity for an Innovation Renaissance
While confronting the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt rose to the challenge to innovate by enacting the New Deal and told Americans that “the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: if it fails,...