Jim Crow States Rights Assertions, Lawsuits, Threats-Texas Republicans Never Stop Attacking Our Vote

Here are Houston Democracy Project Blog Notes & Observations for November 2nd. Election Day is in 3 days on November 5th. Early Voting is over.

*Harris County & Texas Republicans never let up in trying to overturn our election results and disenfranchise our voters.   

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson says federal election monitors can't enter Texas polling places. 

From The Texas Tribune: 

​Texas’ top elections official told the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday its election monitors aren’t permitted in the state's polling places after the federal agency announced plans to dispatch monitors to eight counties on Election Day to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws....The Justice Department regularly sends monitors across the country to keep an eye out for potential voting rights violations during major elections. The agency said monitors would be on the ground in 86 jurisdictions in 27 states. The Texas counties are Atascosa, Bexar, Dallas, Frio, Harris, Hays, Palo Pinto and Waller counties.
 
Just like out of Jim Crow days, but right here in 2024.   

*A motley crew of Harris County Republicans are in court trying to kick thousands of Harris County voters off the rolls.

From KUHF:

A lawsuit filed by conservative activist and GOP megadonor Steven Hotze alleges the Harris County voter registration roll contains “tens of thousands” of ineligible voters....The lawsuit, filed just three days before early voting, in part seeks to remove ineligible voters from the registration roll. But under the details of a federal law, a 90 day deadline was already missed to remove those names ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

There are more details if you click the link. It's stupid. It's all part of endless efforts to overturn our votes. It most likely won't succeed. But they keep trying until they find the right court, the right judge.

*Far-right State Senator Paul Bettencourt is reminding everyone Texas can easily take over Harris County elections. Senator Bettencourt was mad Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez or his office or whoever had said inmates voting in Harris County jails could use an inmate wristband with a date of birth to vote. That was mistaken. It was not an attempt to rig the election or a reason to take control of Harris County elections.

Here are details on inmates voting in Harris County from the Texas Tribune. 

Here is part of what Bettencourt Tweeted out about this issue: "....I want to point out that Harris County is authorized to be placed under the oversight of the (Texas Secretary of State) due to the passage of my SB 1933...:      

Always threats. Always at the ready to take our democracy. You see it's the very same Texas Secretary of State saying that federal poll monitors can't go into Texas polling places who Senator Bettencourt makes clear to say can seize our election process. 
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(A recent survey of the voting preferences of inmates reported a strong majority support Trump.)  

We will win these fights. After we win, they'll try again. And we'll win again. And so on and so on until Texans and the nation choose a permanent course of freedom and equal rights for all.        
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