By Andy Hogue on 8/31/2010 12:52 PM

At first, visitors to the Texas Capitol were asked to empty their pockets as a way to deter would-be threats to the building.

And now DPS troopers are sporting semi-automatic M-4 assault rifles at the doors as part of a recent crime-deterrence plan, KVUE-TV in Austin and KHOU-TV in Houston are reporting.

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By Andy Hogue on 8/31/2010 9:06 AM

Harris County, after losing all of its 10,000 electronic voting machines in a fire on Friday, will be able to purchase enough of the devices to host the General Election at all existing precincts, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The county's Commissioners Court approved $13.6 million to purchase 2,325 Hart Intercivic eSlate machines to keep all polling places open and compliant with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which requires computerized balloting in counties as large as Harris. That's about half as many machines as were used in 2006, the Chronicle article said.

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By Andy Hogue on 8/27/2010 12:41 PM

Days after allegations of voter fraud surfaced in Harris County (see blog post and story), a fire early this morning destroyed all of the county's voting machines.

About 10,000 Hart Intercivic eSlate machines were ruined in a three-alarm fire this morning, the Houston Chronicle reported. The damage to the equipment is estimated at around $30 million.

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By Andy Hogue on 8/26/2010 4:04 PM

So that's why Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri had his first press conference in Waco!

We're working on our weekly issue at this time, but here's the Republican Party of Texas' press release, verbatim:

WACO -- Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri today provided reporters with a series of documents that make it clear that State Rep. Jim Dunnam, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, does not live in House District 57, the district he represents in the Texas House.  In fact, it appears that Dunnam has not lived in House District he represents since the lines were re-drawn as a result of the 2000 Census. ...

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By Andy Hogue on 8/24/2010 4:09 PM

A Houston-based conservative group released what they considered to be a discovery of thousands of false voter registrations this afternoon.

The group, the King Street Patriots, claimed they found hundreds of voter addresses linked to vacant lots -- some associated with six or more false voters. ... If these charges are true, this could add new fuel to the push for a Voter ID bill in the next legislature.

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By Andy Hogue on 8/18/2010 4:45 PM

Ethics is turning out to be the hot topic this election cycle -- especially With Rep. Linda Harper-Brown's situation (regarding state license plates on a TxDOT contractor-owned SUV) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White releasing an ethics reform plan as part of his campaign, and incumbent Rick Perry's continual insistence that White pony up his IRS filings.

Now, a lesser-known Democratic opponent has a chance to play the ethics card against a Republican incumbent, the Dallas Morning News reported. Rep. Joe Driver (R-Garland) faces Democrat Jamie Dorris in the November election in a seat east of Dallas, where Republican seats are in jeopardy following 2006's and 2008's trend.

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By Andy Hogue on 8/18/2010 9:26 AM

After six years, the U.S. Department of Justice finally ended its investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's connection to Jack Abramoff.

No criminal charges were brought -- though the Texas case is still pending. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24 in Austin, presided over by retired District Judge Pat Priest. A trial is expected in the spring.

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