Hegar,a Republican,said he hopes Heap and county officials can resolve the situation themselves long before Harris County begins budget deliberations for fiscal year 2024. He also predicted that county officials would once again use a convoluted approach to argue they had not reduced Heaps funding. And of course there can always be election contests. TxDOT still must acquire some property, Koch said, and the pending Federal Highway Administration review that the local agreements do not affect must be resolved. Neither he nor Ted Heap seems to have gotten any better at math or more truthful in general, so most likely this will play out in similar fashion. Giving this much power to a governing minority is the problem here. If you have a favorite or two among them and a few bucks to spare, Im sure theyd appreciate a contribution. Harris County, TX Attorney. Were not taking the position that the Legislature is opposed to voting by mail, Thompson said. Abbott is exceeding his authority under the state Disaster Act of 1975, Menefee argued, which the county attorney said allows the governor to suspend laws in only narrow circumstances. Check out the subscription page by clicking Buy Now. Under state law, ballots should be delivered by either the election judge or an election clerk designated by that judge. an LLC, Incorporate I cannot begin to fathom the pain and loss they are experiencing. The lawsuit follows the approval by the Harris County Bail Bond Board to require bondsmen to take in 10 percent or more of the surety bond minimum set by a judge or magistrate to make it more difficult for violent offenders to leave jail and go on to commit more crime. UPDATE: Later in the day I found this Statesman story, which added a few details. As the project has lingered, and faced opposition, some have argued it is forcing TxDOT to take a harder line, jeopardizing some of the gains. Instead, Hidalgo said, the comptroller should have calculated on the basis of pay periods rather than the number of months. 2023-301111; Will Archer v. Judge James Horwitz. Alan Rosen had his eye on the Sheriffs office back when Ed Gonzalez was a nominee for head of ICE, but thats off the table now. Details big and small remain works in progress and a federal pause looms as the last big hurdle, for now, as officials move ahead after last months agreements. It has a chilling effect, Rodriguez said while questioning a state attorney Friday morning. I doubt theres an agreement that satisfies everyone, but there are definitely options that do a better job of minimizing harm and promoting equity. To put it another way, good luck proving intent. There are apparently 2,100 provisional Election Day ballots in question, out of 2,555 total E-Day provisionals and 2,420 that included a vote in this race. Further, the EAs Office discussed the plan for both May elections with both political parties as early as April 7. It is highly likely that a lawsuit will result. My Account, Forms in One reason for the expected slow count Tuesday is the Harris County Republican Partys decision to break with the countys ballot delivery plan, according to Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria. January 2022 reports are here, July 2022 reports are here. In a Wednesday evening news release, the elections office warned residents against scammers it said pretended to be from the county elections and voter registration offices and attempted to collect sensitive personal information from voters. We have multiple locations at which anyone can vote precisely as a hedge against problems at any one specific location. Theres more, go read the whole thing, and add on this tweet thread from story author Jessica Huseman. 7 Cause No. We cant spend money to design and we cant spend money to do those things, Ryan said at the forum, which drew criticism because it was for paying guests only at an event sponsored by various engineering, construction and planning firms. She cited the example of barratry, where lawyers unlawfully solicit clients for profit. There are a couple of stories all rolled into this, so my apologies for any confusion. County election officials around the state are already reporting getting a bunch of requests, some of which appear to be part of a coordinated effort. Mark Goldberg is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Theres apparently some talk of a compromise, which would need to happen soon, but Ill believe it when I see it. The Compliance Practice Group specializes in lawsuits for debt collection and enforcement of laws that protect the interest of Harris County. who have previously worked at the U.S. Attorneys Office. Too bad! Handling of the voted ballots themselves opens up the possibility of accidental or intentional damage or misplacement that could call into question the election after the fact.. Turner signed the citys agreement Monday, after it was signed by TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. The criminal division prosecutes criminal cases. Look at how zealously they opposed all of the efforts to expand voting access in the pandemic, including the third week of early voting that Greg Abbott ordered. Sherman Eagleton, Constable Precinct 3 Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday voted to sueTexas Comptroller GlennHegars office in response to hiscomments accusing the countyof defunding law enforcement. It could also ask voters to approve the funding reduction in a referendum, Hegar said. If the case moves quickly, and the Texas Supreme Court vacates the temporary restraining order, chaos could ensue, Taylor said. This is all bullshit and should be seen as such. So if I understand this correctly, the Elections Office could provide these documents on demand, but legally they dont have to until they get an opinion on it from the AGs office. Judge Jones is represented by Oliver Brown. As the highest-ranking election official in Harris County, Im responsible for enabling the countys millions of voters to exercise their right to cast a lawful ballot, many of whom face obstacles to voting in person due to illness, disability, or age. That is a sacred act, and were going to fight to protect it.. The petition also acknowledges the county has provided some of the requested documents. The main takeaway here is that not only can you not trust anything Paxton says, you also cant trust anything his office says, even if they sign their names to it. If you need to write a similar letter. 1 makes it a crime for public officials or election officials to encourage voters to request a mail ballot application, even if the person would be eligible to vote by mail. The odds that Jones could lose the entire 360 vote net he got from the E-Day provisionals plus another 90 votes in this subset of the total ballots just strike me as extremely remote. Others rub shoulders with business leaders, politicians, sports figures, and even celebrities. Part of the new rule requires that bail bondsmen have to report the premium amount collected ahead of the defendants release. You wouldnt want to recommend voting by mail as an option because youd be worried about prosecution, he said. Not all the things we wanted materialized, but that is compromise, said Harris County Pct. webcomments@hctx.net. If you throw out all of the Election Day provisional ballots, DaSean Jones still leads by 89 votes. 2023-00924; Elizabeth Buss v. Judge David Fleischer. You can also contribute to any candidate you like directly just google them or find their campaign Facebook page to get to a suitable Donate link for them. The USPS rede livery form states that it was both a letter and certified mail. On the other side of that, you can see that Judge Hidalgo left it all on the field. So lets think about this instead: . The Department of Justice haschallengedS.B. Judge Williams is represented by Anthony Drumheller. To say the least, that would be an extraordinary circumstance. Thanks! In Houston, the three Democrats on Commissioners Court voted to allow County Attorney Christian Menefee to bring his own case, over the objections of the two Republican members. We have the primaries coming up real soon, which means mail ballots are going to be getting requested, and people will have questions about them. At a May 11 hearing with the state House Elections Committee to address delayed election results, Longoria argued the plan utilizing law enforcement officers and deputized staffers is in compliance with Texas law. An investigator with the AGs Election Integrity Unit spoke to Icsezen in December of 2020, and apparently concluded that this was basically a misunderstanding of an unclear law, and did not warrant further action. Judge Peeples has set an initial status conference for today, Tuesday December 13, at 3:00 p.m. This will be an important case, and Im glad to see its progressing, said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. This is how I learned how little was in their campaign accounts. There were 2,555 provisional ballots cast on Election Day, of which 2,420 included a vote in the DaSean Jones Tami Pierce race. 2023-01103; Kyle Scott v. Carla Wyatt. The Harris County Elections Administrators Office also issued a statement, saying it readily has responded to requests that do not require documents subject to the litigation, and has sought an opinion from the attorney generals office on those that do. Under S.B. Additional Losing Candidates File Election Contests in Harris County. In the roughly 20 months since, officials chipped away at the differences,postponing action on the countys lawsuitand awaiting the federal review, while exploring what changes TxDOT could make to appease concerns. Comptroller Hegar misapplied the law, bungled the math, and is acting outside of his legal . Adding sidewalks and bike amenities to areas where TxDOThas committed to trying to reduce the number of properties it will take. Metro is probably as eager as anyone to get this going, as their MetroNext plans depend on various items in the I-45 rebuild. Privacy Policy and our Accessibility Statement. [Paxtons office wants] to throw a monkey wrench into the operations of vote counting, especially if they think they might lose, and Paxton is in a close race as far as I can tell, said Linda Eads, a professor at Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law and a former deputy attorney general for litigation for the state of Texas. Neighborhoods with batch plants lack deed restrictions and zoning to protect them, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said. Just like what happened in Bell County (won by Greg Abbott 59.04% to 39.52%, in case you were curious), which the AG has accepted as fact. The feds later asked TxDOT to pause other work on the project as well. They said that it took President Joe Biden a fellow Democrat winning the White House for federal regulators to put pressure on this issue in the conservative Lone Star State. The affidavits are linked to efforts by a conservative grass-roots organization called the Texas Election Network, which earlier this year attempted to get Sunnyside residents to sign forms verifying the identities of registered voters living at their addresses. The state is expected to quickly appeal the ruling. Around the same time, Harris County sued TxDOT, saying the designs did not adequately address the impacts of noise and pollution in some communities, notably the North Side and Independence Heights. Officials have defended the deals as the best way to change the project but still maintain the benefits that will come with it, including faster and safer commutes and the creation of two-way managed lanes that can improve transit in the I-45 corridor. In a statement Tuesday, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefees office said: The requests for these documents were handled the same as any other requests for documents related to ongoing litigation against the county. The county will now have to spend substantial resources handling these contests, time that could instead be spent serving the people of Harris County, added County Attorney Menefee. Joe Danna, Sheriff Judge Finch is represented by Anthony Drumheller. Hidalgo opened the meeting alternately lambasting Ramsey and Cagles absence and lamenting the potential impacts of the countys inability to approve its proposed tax rate. Longoria and Morgan, however, told U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio that waiting until summer is not an option for a prohibition that will handcuff them in the weeks leading up to the March 1 Texas primaries. This was separate from all of those, which I confirmed with the County Attorney Office. Hes going to have to weigh all that.. The Fifth Circuit asks the justice to answer whether a volunteer deputy registrar, or VDR, is a public official under the Texas Election Code; whether speech the plaintiffs intend to use constitutes solicitation within the context of the state code; and whether the Texas Attorney General has the power to enforce that code. I am taking the following steps to comply with the letter and spirit of Section 171.004. Former officer Gerald Goines led a raid on the home, which police believed to be a drug den.Jun 21, 2021. Carla Wyatt, County Treasurer, Alexandra Mealer, County Judge Similarly, Morgan argued in the filing that her work as a voter registrar particularly around the University of Texas in Austin will be hampered if she can no longer proactively suggest that eligible but unaware voters request an application to vote by mail as she has in the past.. I maintain as I said yesterday that it is highly unlikely that the 180th Court will be affected. City of Houston and Harris County Statements on EPA Order for Union Pacific Contamination Cleanup, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee Responds to Texas Comptroller, Harris County Attorney Announces Legal Action Against Landfill Expansion. That short fiscal year has made it difficult to make year-to-year funding comparisons, and has resulted in the county and the comptrollers office using different methods to analyze whether the constables funding has increased or decreased. Have I got that right? Center, Small And in response to the recent Court of Criminal Appeals case holding that the Texas Attorney General has no independent authority to prosecute criminal offenses created in the Election Code, they also sued the Harris, Travis, and Williamson County district attorneys to challenge the criminal penalties imposed by the anti-solicitation provision. Disclaimer | Please read the Administrative Order below: - Prohibiting Recording of Remote Proceedings, Emergency Public Helath and Safetly Conditions, NEW!!! Ramsey 550,625 149,433 0 944,935 Judge Walker is represented by John Raley. Determining how a proposed downtown connection for the Hardy Toll Road will enter the area near Buffalo Bayou and cross a remade I-10. 16 Cause No. As a result, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, even though fewer than 115,000 ballots had been cast. If even one is bounced, Abbott could appoint a replacement for those in the criminal courts. I just was looking and several firms advise against even signing for these things. Some lawyers travel the country, or even the world, to participate in trials, depositions, arbitrations, and business deals. Mark Goldberg Assistant District Attorney | Harris County District Attorney's Office. Political science and law experts agree that the local governments mask mandates have an unfavorable path forward, ending with the Texas Supreme Court; all nine justices are Republicans and have shown little appetite for ruling against the governor. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee on Thursday expressed disappointment in the decision by the 5th Circuit, which has blocked a number of court challenges to conservative policies. Its deeply annoying that we have to do this as a reminder, these cases are stinking piles of nothing and the losers pursuing them damn well know it but its where we are. Federal prosecutors sometimes resemble sharks, because they are frequently unwilling to abandon even fruitless investigations unless they draw some blood. Alexander Mealer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. We appreciate your patience and look forward to speaking with you soon. We use cookies to improve security, personalize the user experience, enhance our marketing activities (including cooperating with our marketing partners) and for other business use. I was employed by {Name of the company} for {Number} years until I was suddenly and without explanation fired from my job last month. Thank you for your time and consideration. But due to a change in state law, you only have until March 8 to make a contribution. Let me start off by saying that my heart breaks for everyone in Uvalde. Sartaj Bal is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. Cagles July report showed over a million bucks on hand. How TxDOT will rebuild Interstate 69 beneath Metropolitan Transit Authoritys Red Line light rail in Midtown while keeping the trains moving as much as possible. Sylvester Turner, Mayor Mayor Sylvester Turner serves as the Executive Officer of the City. Another reminder: There were 782 voting locations on Election Day, and you could vote at any of them. See here and here for some background about the litigation that allowed polling locations to remain open until 8 PM. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. That included an 88-year-old voter whom Morgan would typically call at the start of every year to remind her that she has to reapply for mail-in ballots. By all accounts, there were maybe 20-25 sites that have paper issues. That one would be heard in the House by a House committee, if Speaker Phelan for some reason doesnt toss it as a frivolous waste of time. Paxtons opinion, experts say, does not appropriately address the potential criminal exposure. You can help Democrats being sued by election losers, these cases are stinking piles of nothing and the losers pursuing them damn well know it, Here we go again with the defunding baloney, January 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County, agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, Metros plans for bus rapid transit into its overall design, Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans, Federal Highway Administration placed on the project in March 2021, postponing action on the countys lawsuit, Judge assigned to hear election loser contest, ruled that the abortion bounty hunter law SB8 violated the state constitution, And now we have a judicial loser contesting the election, The Republicans did warn us theyd be sore losers, ridiculous election contest filed in HD135, SCOTx allows provisional votes to be counted, Paxton sues to prevent some provisional votes from being counted, report released by the Elections Office on the 18th, At least one local voter purge effort has been thwarted, attempted to get Sunnyside residents to sign forms, Paxton issues deranged opinion on access to ballots, EPA to investigate TCEQ over concrete plant permits, If the only choices are take it or leave it, well, state officials offered regarding amending plans, argue highway officials should focus more on improving transit, The continued Republican threat to voting, reduced early voting hours in places like Harris County, Harris County GOP drops its lawsuit over election night vote dropoffs, break with the countys ballot delivery plan, wary to hand over ballots to emissaries so they can ferry to a central location, the county did not complete its count until Sunday morning, I didnt have a problem with the May 7 reporting, SCOTx ponders the questions the Fifth Circuit asked it about SB1, Seems like theres not that much in dispute, New bail bond rules survive initial court challenge, Fifth Circuit asks SCOTx for help on some SB1 issues, Of course the Fifth Circuit put a hold on the SB1 injunction, the Fifth Circuit giving Republicans everything they ask for, Injunction granted in lawsuit over criminal penalties for election officials who encourage voting by mail, Rob Icsezen and Dana DeBeauvoir would like to have a word with you, Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone, indict Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, sending out the howler monkeys against the Court of Criminal Appeals, Preliminary injunction sought against mail ballot restrictions, Biden administrations Justice Department, wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, letter sent by seven Houston-area Congressman urging Buttigieg to not impede the project, arent likely to be happy with half a loaf, Harris County sues Abbott and issues a mask mandate, mask mandate case involving El Paso County, Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover. To recap the history here, back in September a group of plaintiffs including Isabel Longoria filed one of many lawsuits against SB1, the voter suppression law from the special sessions. Did I mention that the Republicans opposed the extension of voting hours in Harris County (and not in red-voting Bell County, which also had voting location issues), and also opposed the counting of provisional ballots cast by people who voted after 7 PM? The letter, from the law firm Odelson, Sterk, Murphey, Frazer & McGrath is addressed to five of the 11 candidates for ethics board: David Carrabotta, Lisa Emmett Stechman, David Laske, Joy Alfonsi . All About Bail Bonds owner and plaintiff Sunya Claiborne argued in the lawsuit that the policy jeopardizes her business calling the minimum fee requirement classic price fixing and a per se antitrust violation. The lawyer for the plaintiff, Kevin Pennell, said he plans this week to appeal the judges order. I think Harris County has the right response here. Its not like voters were told they couldnt vote or that they had to go home. Sale, Contract A decision by a dissenting [opinion] of the court, while sometimes correct, Ariens said, is not as helpful as a decision from a majority of the court., But getting the temporary restraining order granted in the first place puts San Antonio and Bexar County in a stronger position, he said, as it allowed the city to get a mask mandate in place in public schools and public facilities. Youre talking about school districts that are following CDC guidelines on masking. Residents in Aldine recently packed a room to tell TCEQ not to approve another new plant only to find out that the deadline had already passed to ask the state agency to escalate the dispute to the next level. The motion filed today requests a preliminary injunction against the S.B. This action was taken in response to the Office of the Texas . Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Friday accused Harris County of defunding law enforcement,rekindling a feudfrom last fallin which Republican state officialsthreatened to blockthe countys annual budget. First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne wrote the Harris County Attorneys office was approving the agreement based on the understanding that the Texas Supreme Courts order does not prohibit the tabulating of those votes as long as the ballots themselves remain segregated., Kimberly Gdula, deputy chief of the Attorney Generals office general litigation division, signed off on the agreement in an email: The State is good with this., However, Sunday evening, two days before the commissioners court meeting to certify the election results, Hilton, the chief of the Attorney Generals office general litigation division, sent an email to the parties questioning the legal basis for including the provisional ballots cast after 7 p,m. Now, someone wakes up on Election Day and suddenly thinks law enforcement officials and deputized election officers are an issue?. Judge Peeples is based in San Antonio, and was appointed by the Honorable Susan Brown, the Presiding Judge of the Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas. With fewer people needing bail bonds because fewer people were being assessed bail, bail bond companies saw their revenues decline and so they looked for new customers by lowering their fees so as to entice those who were still being required to pay bail but couldnt afford their fees. As I said, I have no criminal record to speak of prior to this so I'm not sure what to think at this point. Christian Menefee, Harris County Attorney Attorneys for the city and county relied on a dissenting opinion from a judge on the 8th Court of Appeals in a mask mandate case involving El Paso County, Ariens said: that Texas law does not allow the governor to suspend laws giving local governments the ability to respond to public health crises as they see fit. I started writing this post at 8 PM, and as of that time there had been no ruling from SCOTx. UPDATE: Its 10:30 PM, more than a third of the Tuesday votes have been counted, and I see nothing on Twitter or in my inbox to indicate that SCOTx has issued a ruling. I was invited to this meeting because of the effort to create and carry out block walking events. I am writing to request your help with a matter that is very important to me. If you can do better than I did, or if the webpage eventually fixes itself, let me know. The challenged provision makes it a state jail felony for election officials to solicit the submission of an application to vote by mail if the voter did not request it. It does not make the records confidential (where it would be illegal to disclose the information); it just means the government is not required to disclose the information, Aleshire said. In fact, the first time any concerns were raised occurred during a public meeting May 11 at the Election Committee Hearing by the Secretary of States Office. Time and again, the TCEQ has approved permits for additional plants in these very same neighborhoods, and failed to ensure that the pollution that comes out of these plants does not harm human health and the environment, Menefee said. Corporations, 50% off Four Observations From Houston Astros Spring Training, TX Rep. Slaton Wants To End Taxes for People With Ten or More Children. Of course the [Texas Supreme Court] proceedings remain pending and the court could rule on something. This website often will provide the arresting agency . Burgess 940 14,710 5,207 5,403 USLF amends and updates the forms as is required by Texas statutes and law. I believe thats the first Ive heard of the construction timeline being pushed back to 2027, which is a modest benefit no matter what else happens. If I trusted them before I have no reason not to trust them now. Agreements, Letter Googling around, I saw a news item from September about Juul settling with the state of Texas, which was part of a larger class action settlement, and a news item from December about a $1.7 billion settlement of over 5000 lawsuits nationwide. Nor did Paxtons office intervene this year when voting hours were also extended by one hour in Bell County because of early morning glitches with check-in systems. He may or may not seek to run for something else do remember that the minute he says something to that effect hell have to resign, so all we would have before then is speculation but either way I wont be surprised to see some competition for the Precinct 1 slot. Upon receiving a sworn statement challenging a voters residence, election officials must send a Notice of Address Confirmation to the voter in question. Think about sending the document to your legal counsel to make certain all things are completed properly. Later in the day, we got this. View New York Release of Lien of Estate Tax, View Application for Name Reservation - West Virginia, View Arkansas Registration of Foreign Corporation, View Colorado Foreign Judgment Enrollment. Regarding the temporary restraining order request getting rejected, Kevin Pennell the plaintiffs lawyer said in an email Friday he had no comment. An election judge is the person in charge of running a voting location. The office also includes the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library, which is a public library that serves the legal information needs of self-represented litigants, legal professionals, the judiciary, and County and other governmental officials. Theres already been a lot of time for talk, and I dont know how much latitude TxDOT has to give. Employment law attorneys advise the county, its departments, and its officials regarding proposed policies, procedures, and legal obligations and provide training for management and newly elected officials. As a reminder, and as you can see from the report released by the Elections Office on the 18th, DaSean Jones netted 360 votes from the provisional ballots cast on Election Day. Its just illogical to me, and this is a part of the story that nobody talks about.. At aMay 11 hearingwith the state House Elections Committee, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria argued the countys ballot delivery plan utilizing law enforcement officers and deputized staffers is in compliance with Texas law. Recent bills proposed in the state legislature largely floundered. Well just have to keep an eye on that. LLC, Internet So, until I hear otherwise, it is my contention that these provisional ballots are not enough to alter any races result, and also that this doesnt matter because all of the ballots should be counted. If their position is strong, they will know what they need to support their case.
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