r/TexasPolitics

Despite affordability, immigration, and healthcare being the top issues on Texans’ minds heading into the midterm election, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced a new initiative to fight “dirty” books in Texas public schools.

But how ‘vulgar’ are they?

I believed they pulled a bunch of shenanigans before and are in office only by gerrymandering, removing access, and purging rolls. I don't understand how the majority of Texas would vote for someone who legislated against them and not for them. They legit legislate to harm us. Now they are dropping people from voter rolls again, but what can we do to stop it? Even if it shows fraudulent, the election results still stand, even if they're wrong and they actually lost. What if they just decide not to leave? We've been stuck this way for 30 years. They are choking us to death. They are demolishing our lands and environment and leaving poisons behind. What do we even do? What is the end game? I don't want to be sick, poor, dead. I don't want to be miserable all the time and guns everywhere. I don't want to be Iran with christian nationalist ISIS everywhere. I just want life, liberty, and justice for all. What happened to that and how did we allow it to get so far? What do we do to stop it? Voting does not seem to be enough anymore. I am going to vote, but it doesn't seem like enough.

What the fk happened, Texas? Who can we even go to, to sue for fraud and removing our inalienable rights? Wtf do we do?

How to check if you are a voter or not

The Texas Secretary of State has a website where you can check whether or not you are a registered voter:

https://www.texas.gov/living-in-texas/texas-voter-registration/

I would check now, and then check again in late September. If you find that you have been removed from the voter rolls, re-register immediately. This same webpage gives registration instructions, but please take note:

You have to get a paper voter registration form, or print out the online voter registration form as a physical paper hardcopy, then mail it by US Postal Service to your County's voter registrar office. The deadline to register is October 5, 2026. You really want it to be post-marked, IMHO, by Wednesday, September 30. That leaves some extra time in case you don't have an envelope, don't have a postage stamp, or your mail doesn't get picked up on time. Many people alive today have never mailed a physical letter, so the process may be unfamiliar.

If you fill out the form, sign it, scan it, and email it to your County's voter registrar office... they cannot accept it. They will delete the email. If you fax it to your County's voter registrar office... they cannot accept it. They will tear up the fax.

Texas is one of eight US States that does not have online voter registration.

By the way, this is all on purpose - they want to make voter registration and voting and strange, unfamiliar, and inconvenient process - because they want to suppress votes, plain and simple. Especially young people's votes. young people have an expectation they should be able to do everything virtually, right? Well, not this thing.

If you get to October 1, 2, or 5 you really should go in person to your County's voter registrar office. That doesn't mean you have to go Downtown... major cities have satellite locations where you can register to vote closer to where you live. However, you will have to interrupt your work or school to go register. These offices often close by 4 PM. Not convenient by design.

How to guarantee that you can vote, no matter what

Take to the polls with you physical paper documentary evidence of your voter registration... your voter registration postcard that you got from your County, or a screen capture of the record showing you are registered, or the receipt that you got from your County when you registered in person.

If you go to vote, and they say "Sorry we can't find you, you can't vote today, go away", then ask to vote with a Provisional ballot. You cannot be refused! Here is language from the Texas Secretary of State:

"Provisional voting is designed to allow a voter whose name does not appear on the list of registered voters due to an administrative error to vote. The provisional voting process involves an affidavit that (1) the voter must complete stating the reasons he or she is qualified to vote; and (2) is used if the voter’s registration cannot be verified by the polling place election officials OR if a voter (a) does not possess one of the acceptable forms of photo identification listed above, and a voter can reasonably obtain one of these forms of identification or (b) possesses, but did not bring to the polling place, one of the seven forms of acceptable photo identification listed above, or (c) does not possess one of the seven forms of acceptable photo identification, could otherwise not reasonably obtain one, but did not bring a supporting form of identification to the polling place.

The provisional voting process requires the voter to visit the voter registrar’s office within six (6) calendar days of the date of the election to either present one of the above seven (7) acceptable forms of photo ID OR if the voter does not possess, and cannot reasonably obtain an acceptable form of photo identification, execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and present one of the acceptable forms of supporting ID, OR, if applicable, submit one of the temporary affidavits (e.g., religious objection or natural disaster) OR, if applicable, qualify for a permanent disability exemption, in order for the provisional ballot to count.

The voter-marked provisional ballots are kept separately from the regular ballots, and the voter’s records will be reviewed by the provisional voting ballot board (the early voting ballot board), to determine if the ballot is to be counted or rejected. If applicable, the voter registrar will conduct whatever research is necessary to determine whether the voter is or should have been registered in the precinct in which the voter cast the provisional ballot and will pass this information on to the ballot board to assist it in making the decision of whether the provisional ballot must be counted. Provisional voters will receive a notice in the mail by the 10th day after the local canvass advising them if their provisional ballots were counted, and if they were not counted, the reason why."

Complicated on purpose. But you can vote. They just want you to suffer, and the Election Judge will suffer too, because they have to fill out a form for each Provisional ballot. That's why they don't want you to vote this way, because it makes work for them.

Show your evidence to the Judge that you were registered to vote and/or you re-registered, and ask for that Provisional ballot.

I was an Election Judge in the past, and I am a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar in Harris County now.

The Forward has a piece about the Texas Railroad Commission race between scandal-plagued bigot Bo French and state Rep. Jon Rosenthal, who is Jewish. Glad to see this race is getting some national attention. Here is a key quote:

>Rather than focus solely on traditional regulatory issues in his campaign, French has infused culture war themes. His campaign website says he will end “the influence of radical Islam and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in Texas oil” and strengthen the railroad commission’s “partnership with our allies like Israel.” In March, French called on the U.S. to deport 100 million people and for Texas Republicans to more openly condemn Islam.

>“To be fair, he seems to be a pretty equal opportunity hater,” Rosenthal told the Forward. “He says antisemitic stuff, but he’s also Islamophobic and anti-immigrant.”

>The state’s top Republicans — Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows — had all endorsed Wright in the primary. Now, all three are backing French.

>Others won’t embrace French but see his victory as inevitable. Fred Zeidman, a Houston-based Jewish Republican donor who supported French’s rival in the primary, said the controversial campaign talking points are unrelated to the commission’s work on regulating gas and oil.

Data centers and long-distance power lines have voters far from major cities turning against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board has a piece about the state's confusing THC regulations and a local initiative to deprioritize enforcement of low-level marijuana possession laws by reiterating its call for Texas to legalize and regulate marijuana. Here is a key quote:

>Whether these new laws will be stringently enforced remains to be seen. Harris County, for instance, has long deprioritized low-level marijuana possession under four ounces. The District Attorney’s Office runs a diversion program for marijuana offenders, which includes a 90-day community supervision period. 

>A segment of Houston voters want to push decriminalization a step further. A progressive advocacy organization successfully petitioned for a citywide ballot referendum calling for the Houston Police Department to formally deprioritize misdemeanor cannabis possession. 

>Of course, this would all be a lot less confusing if we just treated marijuana like we do alcohol — as a vice that is tightly regulated and limited to licensed businesses and adult consumers. Instead we’re stuck with a regulatory regime where we’ve banned the marijuana equivalent of beer while allowing the sale of overproof Jello shots. Polls of Texans show broad support for legalizing marijuana. More than half the states in the country have already done it, raising significant sums of tax revenue as a result. 

Gift link!

The letter requests the final report of these investigations by December 31, 2026, so that appropriate action can be taken and additional reforms may be considered by the 90th Legislature.

Look for making up findings to lower spending on education even more.

Among the policy objectives adopted by the Texas GOP earlier this summer, ending the pathway to an easy divorce is once again back on the Republican agenda heading into the 90th legislature. 

Republican Ag Commissioner Sid Miller has an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to put a freeze on Flock cameras and pass privacy protections. Here is a key quote:

>Texans deserve answers. Who can be tracked? Is a warrant required? How long is information retained? Who can access it? Who audits the system? “Trust us” is not an acceptable answer when constitutional liberty is on the line.

>No law-abiding Texan should enter a digital lineup whenever he drives on a public road. No mother should wonder whether her school route is in a government database. No veteran should be tracked on the way to a medical appointment simply because the technology makes it possible.

>This is far too Big Brother-esque for the Lone Star State. It pushes civilian law enforcement toward a domestic intelligence model capable of monitoring people never accused of wrongdoing. Local officers should remain peace officers, not operators in a surveillance network.