Here’s some big news this week out of Texas:
Texas has surpassed 17 million registered voters for the first time, continuing a pace that is reshaping the state’s electorate so rapidly that even the politicians cannot keep up.
Despite a series of new election regulations from the Republican-led Legislature and more purges of inactive voters from the rolls, the state has added nearly 2 million voters in the last four years and more than 3.5 million since eight years ago, when Gov. Greg Abbott won his first term.
The result is at least 1 of every 5 voters in Texas never cast a ballot in the Lone Star State prior to 2014 — a remarkable wild card in a state that had stable politics and a slow stream of new voters for a generation before that.
“You have a largely new electorate that is unfamiliar with the trends and the personalities in the area,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor. “That rapid turnover leads to a lot of uncertainty for candidates.”
Texas was just short of 17 million people eligible to vote in the constitutional amendment elections Nov. 2. Harris and Dallas counties combined to add nearly 12,000 more voters as Election Day approached, putting the state over the threshold.
In case you are wondering where in the state of Texas those big boosts in voter registrations came from, I got you covered:
Counties with the biggest gains in voter registration since 2014.
Harris: 502,929 Biden won 55.94% of the vote in 2020
Bexar: 276,554 Biden won 58.20% of the vote in 2020
Tarrant: 255,477 Biden won 49.31% of the vote in 2020
Travis: 229,882 Biden won 71.14% of the vote in 2020
Dallas: 221,640 Biden won 64.89% of the vote in 2020
Collin: 201,879 Trump won 51.26% of the vote in 2020
Denton: 187,075 Trump won 53.23% of the vote in 2020
Fort Bend: 153,592 Biden won 54.57% of the vote in 2020
Williamson: 138,033 Biden won 49.56% of the vote in 2020
Montgomery: 118,618 Trump won 71.22% of the vote in 2020
Source: Texas Division of Elections
I’m liking those results and we have Beto O’Rourke and his organization, Powered by People, to thank.
Speaking of Beto:
Former congressman Beto O'Rourke has spent months dodging questions about a Texas gubernatorial run. Now, Powered by People, an organization founded by him, is teasing a major news announcement.
"We've got something big to announce, and we want you to be a part of it," the website says. "Add your name, and we'll make sure you're the first to know what Beto is planning."
The sign-up alert comes amid conversations of O'Rourke running against Greg Abbott for Texas governor. Several reports have come out hinting that the Democrat from El Paso could announce his run later this year.
Also, happy to see Governor Greg Abbott (R. TX) get a big “Fuck You” on this:
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act — freeing local officials to again create their own rules.
The order comes after a monthslong legal dispute between parents, a disability rights organization and Texas officials over whether the state was violating the 1990 law, known as the ADA, by not allowing school districts to require masks. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel barred Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing Abbott’s order.
“The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs,” Yeakel said. “Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital’s intensive-care unit.”
The judge said the governor's order impedes children with disabilities from the benefits of public schools’ programs, services and activities to which they are entitled.
The advocacy group, Disability Rights Texas, filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of several Texan families in late August against Abbott, Paxton and Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. It states that the governor’s order and the TEA’s enforcement of it deny children with disabilities access to public education as they are at high risk of illness and death from the virus.
Whatever happens, we have O’Rourke and his organization to thank for helping keep up the efforts to flip Texas Blue. Speaking of which, received this e-mail today from Powered by People:
Exciting news, for the first time ever Texas has over 17 million registered voters!
With every new voter registered in Texas, we move one step closer to making the change we want to see. And this is in no small part thanks to the work of Powered by People volunteers and supporters like you!
Since 2019, Powered by People has registered over 250,000 likely Democratic voters. And right now, volunteers are on the ground registering new voters wherever they are – college campuses, community events, even their own doorsteps.
Sam, this is how we win. One new voter at a time. Please, if you want to support Powered by People's work to fight against voter suppression and register hundreds of thousands of new Texas voters, will you chip in $35 or more today?
Contribute $35
All year, Texas Republicans have been trying to take away Texans' votes. Led by Governor Greg Abbott, the GOP state legislature passed one of the most extreme voter suppression laws in the country. But we haven't let them stop us. We've rallied, trained to become Volunteer Deputy Registrars, and registered new voters in every corner of the state.
The Texas GOP wants nothing more than for us to surrender to their power grab, but these voter registration numbers prove that we're building a movement powerful enough to overcome any attacks on our democracy.
Thank you for your support,
Kate Roberts
Powered by People
Click here to donate to Powered by People’s voter registration efforts.