Houston Democracy Project Notes & Observations, 9/19-Republican Promises Of Violence Are Real

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Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for September 19. Election Day is in 46 days on November 5th and Early Voting begins in 32 days on October 21st. (Today's Picture of the Day is of a boat I recently saw going down Buffalo Bayou.)   

​* Republicans offer violence if they lose and dictatorship if they win. This is not an original observation on my part. At the same time, it's an observation that can't be made enough. We have no obligation to accept this. Voting is essential. But we must be ready for whatever is on the way. This can't be said enough because it can be a lot to process. We will have to show up for ourselves. There are plenty of good people in our politics. At the same time, people do not navigate systems that have taken us to the brink of authoritarianism so they can take risks for us.     

* We rightly focus on election-denial at the national level. We must also be ready for Texas Republicans to challenge election results here in Harris County. This is of course exactly what they did in 2022 with multiple failed frivolous lawsuits to overturn ballot box losses. This time it may well be far more direct intervention from the State of Texas and Attorney General Ken Paxton. The races in Harris County for Sheriff and District Attorney are a big deal. Understanding how awful Kim Ogg has been, imagine a full four years of a Republican DA in Harris County. Of course Republicans would cheat to make it happen.

* You and I know undocumented people are not voting in our elections. Republicans claiming they are know this as well. Regretfully, many voters believe this lie.  KUHF has a story today about the rarity of non-citizen voting in Texas. Discussions--arguments--with people who believe this lie are often frustrating at best. But the story has numbers if you want to try and make your case.          

* This morning along with Egberto Willies, I interviewed Nicole Petersen who runs the voter protection program for the Harris County Democratic Party. This was on the weekly Thursday hour-long Houston Democracy Project segment on Egberto's Politics Done Right show on KPFT. Here is the show on Egberto's YouTube channel.  

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