Texas Senate revives effort to make illegal voting a felony
Lawmakers lowered the penalty to a misdemeanor in 2021, but then almost immediately began discussing raising it back. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/08706a0e7a5dc5b7d36f1bdb254e24c5/1108 Houston Election Day MS TT 03.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/08706a0e7a5dc5b7d36f1bdb254e24c5/1108%20Houston%20Election%20Day%20MS%20TT%2003.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/Contreras.jpeg)
Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She has covered a range of topics as a community journalist including local government, public safety, immigration and social issues. Natalia previously reported for the Austin American-Statesman, focusing on impacts of government policies on communities of color. Natalia previously worked at the Indianapolis Star, where she helped launch the first Spanish-language newsletter, and at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. She was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas in Mexico and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is based in Austin.
Latest Contributions
-
![Voters check in to vote at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas taxpayers face a $100 million bill to update voting machines with equipment that doesn’t exist yet
State lawmakers approved the requirement — which attracted little attention or debate — in their massive overhaul of the state’s voting laws during a 2021 special Legislative session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6a5088411e9c9013725f2c53ea68400f/Hays County Election Test EL 08.jpg)
![A bipartisan testing crew uses voting machines and tabulators during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test on Sept. 21 at the Hays County government building in San Marcos. Texas law requires public testing of the voting machines before and after every election.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Three Texas counties are suing the attorney general to get clarity on when the public can access post-election ballots
For decades, the attorney general’s office advised counties to keep ballots for 22 months after an election. Then Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion saying they could be quickly released to anyone who requested them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9806318ab5127e74139c89eee4a52464/Tarrant County Election Day ST 23.jpg)
![Election workers sort provisional ballots and forms from the polling centers at the Tarrant County Election Administration building in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton wants more power to prosecute election crimes. These bills in the Texas Legislature would give it to him.
Although no evidence of widespread voter fraud has been found, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been actively pursuing election-related crimes since he took office in 2015. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a87a413a52e2fbcb4a64b69de1112dfa/0110 Lege Opening BD TT 39.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave a speech in the Senate chamber during his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 10, 2023. This is Paxton's third term in the office.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Almost two months after Election Day, Harris County still doesn’t know if polling site problems kept people from voting
Some sites opened late and reportedly ran out of paper in November, but the county says its investigation into the issues “has not yet revealed” whether anyone was turned away. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8e855eb6ce9b1858717106f940453dc5/1108 Harris County Vote MS TT 02.jpg)
![Harris county election administrator Clifford Tatum speaks to the press at the central counting center at NRG Park in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
“He had our back”: John Scott’s legacy as secretary of state will be his defense of local election officials
Thrust into the job at a contentious time, Scott believed defending the integrity of Texas elections was his top priority Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a2bc576436b557f2a6a7d9e1c7f79051/SOS John Scott SF TT 02.jpg)
![John Scott speaks to The Texas Tribune during an interview inside his office at the Capitol on Oct. 28, 2021, in Austin. Scott was appointed last week by Gov. Greg Abbott, and his appointment has been criticized after Scott's role in representing the Trump administration in a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Critics are pouncing on Harris County’s election fumbles, real and concocted, to fuel legal challenges
In the latest fallout from Election Day woes, a GOP judicial candidate is suing to overturn her loss, citing unspecified data and “2,000 reports” of polling place problems. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f4ca287aa39c772bd1c063e9925aac8/1108 Houston Election Day MS TT 05.jpg)
![People cast their ballots at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court orders Harris County to include more than 2,000 late-cast ballots in certified election results
After a last-minute challenge from the attorney general, county commissioners agreed to certify those provisional votes in time for the canvassing deadline. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bc0f46f36f7d6728a3b4c3da87e0cf5e/1108 Election Day Houston BV TT 35.jpg)
![Voters wait in line after 7 p.m at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Nov. 8, 2022. The polling location was one of the Harris County polling locations open until 8 PM on Election Day.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for the Texas Tribune -
Here’s why we still don’t know what went wrong in Harris County on Election Day
The state’s biggest county has no central system for tracking problems, so it still can’t say how many polling places opened late, ran out of paper or worked just fine. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/09035d640b71a0f067ecea3b1eaf3da0/1108 Harris County Vote MS REEDIT 31.jpg)
![Ballot boxes and machines are organized in place after processing in Houston, Tuesday Nov 8, 2022 at central counting. (Michael Stravato for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
How this Texas elections official keeps the peace with right-wing voting activists
In the face of their suspicions and threats, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia didn’t fight back. He welcomed them in and listened. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/266ec631fdaef71bfb67bdd27d78b63e/1108 Tarrant County Election ST 37B.jpg)
![Election Administrator Heider Garcia speaks to members of the ballot board in the central count station of the Tarrant County Election Administration building in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6a5088411e9c9013725f2c53ea68400f/Hays%20County%20Election%20Test%20EL%2008.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9806318ab5127e74139c89eee4a52464/Tarrant%20County%20Election%20Day%20ST%2023.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a87a413a52e2fbcb4a64b69de1112dfa/0110%20Lege%20Opening%20BD%20TT%2039.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8e855eb6ce9b1858717106f940453dc5/1108%20Harris%20County%20Vote%20MS%20TT%2002.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a2bc576436b557f2a6a7d9e1c7f79051/SOS%20John%20Scott%20SF%20TT%2002.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f4ca287aa39c772bd1c063e9925aac8/1108%20Houston%20Election%20Day%20MS%20TT%2005.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bc0f46f36f7d6728a3b4c3da87e0cf5e/1108%20Election%20Day%20Houston%20BV%20TT%2035.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/09035d640b71a0f067ecea3b1eaf3da0/1108%20Harris%20County%20Vote%20MS%20REEDIT%2031.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/266ec631fdaef71bfb67bdd27d78b63e/1108%20Tarrant%20County%20Election%20ST%2037B.jpg)