Election day for the Texas primaries is on March 1. Early voting begins on Feb. 14. And right now is the time that many eligible voters are getting ready to cast a ballot by making sure they can cast a ballot.
If they qualify and want to vote by mail (which is a very good idea during a pandemic) they need to ask for an application to vote by mail and then mail it in. But new rules are resulting in a record number of rejected applications.
And some folks still need to register to vote. Texas doesn’t have online voter registration but now the Texas secretary of state’s office explains they don’t have enough paper to print an ample supply of voter registration cards
In a statement, Secretary of State John Scott said there is no law that requires the state to provide voter registration cards.
Texas State Sen. Jose Menendez says this is unacceptable. The San Antonio Democrat is the chair of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, and, with the caucus members, he has sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and Scott calling for answers and solutions.
Investigation Deceptions
The Texas Rangers are a law enforcement agency with a reputation for crack tough cases. But their methods are coming under scrutiny after DNA evidence has revealed a surprising rate of innocent people convicted and sent to prison.
Marshall Project reporter Maurice Chammah has taken a deep dive looking at one of the most well known Texas Rangers, James Holland, and his methods for clearing cases.
Holland became famous in Texas and nationally for convincing suspects into confessing to crimes. But if all of them actually committed the crime is an open question.
Chammah is a reporter with the Marshall Project. He is the author of the book Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty.
His article is "Anatomy of a Murder Confession."
