What's on the Harris County Ballot?

Lot's more than on the Brazoria County ballot - as well as most of the country. Often it's the longest ballot presented to voters anywhere in the US, which means Harris County citizens have lot;s of homework to do it they are going to cast informed votes.

. . . if. ;)

- Click here for it.

We'll walk through it now and then.

From the Austin American - Statesman: Wear: Don’t mess up your vote: Here’s what Uber, Lyft ballot question means

For our look at municipal elections. Ballot wording is often confusing.

- Click here for the article.

Perhaps I shouldn’t worry so much about a confusion factor with the ballot language that Austin voters will encounter on Proposition 1 in the May 7 election.

After all, as last week’s campaign finance reports made clear, Uber and Lyft have already spent more than $2 million to make sure most voters know whether to vote for or against the ballot question. But already, Statesman columnist Ken Herman and I have heard from readers who are befuddled by the wording they see posted on the Travis County clerk’s sample ballot. One of them, who told me her intention was to oppose Uber and Lyft, said she would have inadvertently voted the other way based on what she had read in the ballot language.

It is not hard to see why. Here’s what each of you Austin voters will encounter when you go to the polls during early voting (April 25 to May 3) or on May 7:

From Ballotpedia: Ballot access requirements for political parties in Texas

For more detail on how to create a party in Texas - the state recognizes only four.

- Click here for the post.

The Texas Secretary of State's office offers the following advice:

- Starting a Party and Nominating Candidates.

For their fuller look at ballot access for major and minor party candidates across the nation click here.

Here's a total list of minor parties and the number of ballots each is on across the nation - this includes DC - which is why it adds to 51.

America First Party	1
America's Party	1
American Constitutional Party	1
American Independent Party	1
American Party	1
Americans Elect Party	3
Conservative Party	1
Constitution Party	12
D.C. Statehood Green Party	1
Democratic Party	51
Ecology Party	1
Grassroots Party	1
Green Independent Party	1
Green Party	18
Independence Party	5
Independent American Party	3
Independent Party	5
Justice Party	2
Labor Party	1
Legal Marijuana Now Party	1
Libertarian Party	34
Liberty Union Party	1
Moderate Party	1
Mountain Party	1
Natural Law Party	2
Pacific Green Party	1
Party for Socialism and Liberation	1
Peace and Freedom Party	2
Progressive Party	2
Reform Party	3
Republican Party	51
Socialist Party	1
Socialist Workers Party	1
Tea Party	1
U.S. Taxpayers Party	1
United Citizens Party	1
United Independent Party	1
Veterans Party	1
Working Families Party	4
TOTAL	221

Speaking of ballot language

A ballot measure legalizing marijuana was defeated, but the language on the ballot may have contributed to its defeat.

- Voters confused by wording of Ohio Marijuana Issues.

Two issues on Ohio’s November ballot could have voters dazed and confused. Carrie Lowe, a first-time voter, says she supports the legalization of marijuana. “I’m considering voting this time. Because of how big this is and how big a lot of other issues are.”

There are two issues on the ballot: legalization of pot, and for monopolies to be allowed by the state’s constitution. We’re asking voters if they’re prepared for the upcoming election. “When you say monopolies, I would probably say yes to both. I’m not sure I understand it exactly.”

Her vote of “Yes” on Issues 2 and 3, actually means marijuana would not be legal. A “Yes” vote on Issue 2 would keep monopolies the way they are now — non-existent. A no vote would allow monopolies to be written into the state’s constitution. Queisha Johnson says she supports medicinal marijuana, but believes the Ohio Board of Elections. “I don’t even know what they’re asking. It’s very confusing!”

From Governing: How Bathrooms Became a Political Battleground

There's an old saying in politics that who ever gets to define the terms of the debate wins. That seems to be the case with the HERO ordinance in Houston. It became less about equal treatment before the law and more about bathrooms (the "ick" factors we talked about early in class) and public safety.

- Click here for the story.

Four years ago, Massachusetts passed an anti-discrimation law offering protection to transgender people in areas such as employment, housing, lending and education. Legislators specifically avoided including public accommodations in the law, but the idea that transgender people would use bathrooms and locker rooms that didn't conform with the sex they were assigned at birth caused concern for some.

That issue is still controversial. The legislature is now considering a public accommodations bill that once again has triggered heated opposition.

"We think it's important for all Massachusetts citizens to have their privacy and security protected in intimate spaces," said Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. "If this were passed, women would be forced to change next to anatomical, biological males."

The same argument is taking place all over the country. Legislators in states including Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin have introduced bills that would limit students or adults to using bathrooms appropriate to the gender listed on their birth certificates, as opposed to their current gender identity.

Random items for 2306 today

A smorgasbord:

Texas Tribune: In Texas, Making Presidential Ballot Won't Be Hard.

The Texas GOP's State Republican Executive Committee has decided that candidates have to pony up just $5,000 — or produce 300 signatures from registered voters in each of 15 of Texas' 36 congressional districts — to qualify.

That means Texas should be a hotly contested March 1 primary for GOP candidates who survive February's early state primary and caucus contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — that is, if the candidate or his or her aligned super PAC can afford the sky-high TV advertising rates needed to play in giant Texas.

Texas Tribune: Nationalist Group Wants TX Secession on Primary Ballot.

Texas already seceded once — in 1861, by popular vote in a statewide election. But the Texas Nationalist Movement wants a repeat a century and a half later, and thinks the March GOP primary is the place to start.

The Nederland-based Texas independence group is circulating a petition aimed at getting a non-binding vote onto the GOP primary ballot over whether "the state of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation."

Their goal? 75,000 signatures from registered voters by Dec. 1 — more than the 66,894 the Texas Secretary of State's office says the group needs to get the language on the ballot.

The Corpus Christi Caller: Comptroller estimates close despite weak oil.

Despite volatility in oil prices, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's predictions for the amount of money the state government will have in 2017 appear to be holding close to reality.

Hegar's forecast was issued in January, just before the 84th legislative session. The comptroller's revenue forecast is used by lawmakers to set the state budget for two years.

Last week, with the end of the fiscal year, all the budget funds' revenue was only 0.2 percent less than expected, finishing the year at $109.5 billion instead of $109.7 billion, according to a release.

My Statesman: Court should level the playing field for charter schools.

We agree with the overall conclusion of the recent editorial about the school finance litigation before the state Supreme Court. But we take issue with the specifics regarding public charter schools and facilities funding. The inclusion of charters in the legal discourse is historic, as no previous suit on this thorny issue has contemplated the constitutionality of public charter school funding. Public charter schools didn’t exist when the early suits were filed claiming Texas under funds its schools.

The Texas Constitution makes it clear the state legislature must establish and provide for an “efficient system of public free schools.” Today, and for the past 20 years, that system includes both traditional and public charter schools. Although the paper contends — as the lower court ruled — that charters are somehow an exclusive creation of the legislature, the fact is both types of public schools are subject to state oversight and funding.

My Statesman: Commentary: Licensing often serves to limit competition and choice.

An average college student in Texas lacking funds needs a quick haircut. Fortunately for him, a friend offers to cut his hair for $5, a fraction of the cost of a barber. The student accepts his friend’s offer and all was well, except one thing: By this transaction, his friend was in violation of state law since he did not possess a barber’s license in the state of Texas.

Occupational licenses may not seem like a hot topic, but with 29 percent of all jobs in the United States now requiring some form of license, the time has come to take a long and hard look at the heavy costs of these licenses on the economy and Texans.

Supporters of occupational licensing claim that they are necessary to safeguard the quality of licensed services, hold practitioners to safety standards, and prevent unethical and dangerous practices. The evidence, however, paints a different picture; licensing laws act more as a form of protectionism for those in licensed professions while blocking access to jobs, stifling job creation, and hindering technological development and access to information. Similarly, increasing technology and market advances are making governmental regulation of occupations increasingly obsolete.

My Statesman: Hays County asks if gun-ban policy is legal.

Hays County officials have asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine whether a new state law upends the county’s policy of denying weapons in a county building that includes courtrooms, prosecutors’ offices and the grand jury room.

State law has long prohibited the public from carrying weapons onto “the premises” of courtrooms or offices used by court officials.

But Senate Bill 273, which went into effect Sept. 1, also created stiff financial penalties for governments that improperly ban guns from areas where it is legal for those with a handgun license to carry a weapon. Fines for a first offense range from $1,000 to $1,500, with subsequent offenses topping out at $10,500.

The problem, Hays County Criminal District Attorney Wes Mau told Paxton, is that the three-story Hays County Government Center in San Marcos includes court-related offices where guns are banned as well as places where guns would typically be allowed, such as the tax assessor-collector’s office and the elections office.

No Means No

Ballot wording matters.

This is something that is not always appreciated, though experienced political types are well aware of it. How items are presented to voters on a ballot matters as much as their vent being on the ballot. Once it was determined that Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance would be on the ballot this November conflict turned to how it would be presented.

Opponents of the HERO ordinance were concerned that their allies would be confused by the original language. Here it is:

"Shall the City of Houston repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, Ord. No. 2014-530, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy?"

Opposition to the measure requires a yes vote to repeal the ordinance. Here is the newly approved language:

"Proposition 1: [Relating to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.] Are you in favor of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, Ord. No. 2014-530, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy?"

Opposition to the ordinance is indicated by a no vote. Ballot language - along with order and any number of things - can make subtle differences in voting behavior, but in a close election that may be all that's necessary

For background:

- HERO foes back in court, asking for new ballot language.
- KPRC: Ballot wording for Houston gay rights ordinance rejected.
- KPRC: City Council approves Houston Equal Rights Ordinance ballot language.
- Houston Press: ANTI-HERO COALITION SAYS REPEAL MEASURE IS TOO CONFUSING.
- Houston Press: TEXAS SUPREME COURT ORDERS CITY TO CHANGE HERO BALLOT LANGUAGE.

Sample Ballot for the November 5, 2013 Brazoria County Election

Click here for Brazoria County's elections page.

ACC is in precinct 41, so here's the actual ballot voters registered here will be presented.

It contains the nine Texas constitutional amendments and an up or down vote on a proposed $212 million bond for AISD.

Sample Ballots for Harris and Galveston County

Some prep for next week's election.

- Harris County
- Brazoria County

Judge invalidates vote ending red-light cameras

From the Chron:

Houston city leaders are assessing their options after a federal judge invalidated the November referendum that turned off a red-light surveillance system and halted a stream of millions of dollars into strapped city coffers.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled Friday that the referendum was improperly placed on the ballot last year, and the city cannot be forced to turn off the cameras.

Hughes said Houston's city charterrequires that efforts to overturn ordinances by referendum must occur within 30 days of an ordinance's passage.

Opponents to the red-light ordinance, which passed in 2004, mounted the election challenge last year and got it on the ballot as a charter amendment, but Hughes said that was essentially the same as repealing it.

"Presented with this mislabeling, the council supinely ignored — over voices of some of its members — their responsibility and put the proposition to the voters as an amendment to the charter," Hughes wrote.

The city filed a federal suit against the camera vendor as a way of having a judge review the procedure for shutting off the system, winding down the contract and determining the amount owed the company.

Sample Ballot

Here's a sample ballot from precinct 3 in Brazoria County. We'll go over the races in class Wednesday and Thursday.