Tuesday, January 21, 2014

When To Hold Senatorial District Verses County Conventions.

by Michael Handley

The party convention system in Texas was created to do several things: elect party officers at all levels, set party message and platform, and develop campaign volunteers and activists.  Historically, Precinct Conventions convened in each election precinct immediately after precinct polling places closed on Primary Election Day. A main purpose of those Precinct Conventions was to elect delegates who would advance to their Senatorial District (SD) or County Convention.
Under the newly revised Texas Democratic Party rules, that Precinct Convention step is moved to the top of the SD or County Convention agenda.  Senatorial District and County Conventions will convene across Texas on Saturday, March 22, 2014.
Under party rules revised by the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) on December 14, 2013, any Democrat within each County or Senatorial District who is registered to vote and has taken an oath of affiliation or has voted in the Democratic primary may attend their SD or County Convention. Attendees may use the convention registration page, newly provided on the Statewide Texas Democratic Party website, to register for their County or SD Convention, or they may simply walk in on convention day, Saturday, March 22, 2014. From County and SD Conventions, a subset of those delegates will be elected as Delegates and Alternates to the June 26 – 28th State Convention at the Dallas Convention Center. 

Voter Registration Card 2014-15

by Michael Handley

Every registered Texas voter should have received their new 2014-15 orange Voter Registration Card (VRC) in the postal mail during the first part of January 2014.
If you have not already received a new VRC, you are likely NOT registered to vote. You should immediately check your registration status and take action to properly register, if you find you are not registered to vote in the county where you reside.  You must be registered or have mailed voter registration application by February 3rd to be eligible to vote in the March 4, 2014 primary election.

To check your Collin Co. registration status - click here. To check your registration status in another Texas county - click here. If you find you are not registered to vote, you can find the Voter's Registration application for Collin Co. by clicking here or any county by clicking here.  For specific information about voting in Texas, click here to find the Secretary of State’s pamphlet on Texas Voting.

Most women may notice something new on their Texas VRC this year.  Voters' former names were added to the 2014 voter registration cards because the Texas Election Code (sections 15.001 and 13.002 of the Texas Election Code) says they should have been there for the last twenty years.  Many women are concerned this change has something to do with the new voter I.D. law and that their name won't match their photo id I.D. In fact, this this has nothing to do with the new voter I.D. law.  (Texas Secretary of State Election Advisory No. 2013-08)

Check how your name appears in the white mailing address box in the lower right quadrant of your new orange 2014-15 voter registration card. This is the name that appears on the official voter roll - and that will be the name listed on polling place poll books.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Progressive Referenda For March 2014 Texas Democratic Primary Ballot.

Two years ago I wrote an article for the Dem Blog News that said, in part:
"Perhaps the idea that the party's voter base, outside of Austin, is pervasively very conservative - an idea still active espoused by long time Democratic political strategists - is no longer right. Perhaps the idea that the party and it's candidates must continue to subscribe to conservative policy strategies, shunning all progressive/liberal policy positions, is a strategy that no longer works - even in Texas.

It is, perhaps, time for party leaders to seriously consider whether the party finds itself struggling to raise money and attract new candidates, not because it's not conservative enough, but because the Democratic Party offers Texas voters no real and contrasting choice to the Tea Party Republican brand of politics.

It is definitely time for the Texas Democratic Party to discuss within its ranks the need for the party to engage in a conversation with its base constituencies to understand how to rebuild the party from the grassroots. "
I wrote that article in Nov. 2011, after the the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) refused to approve progressive ballot initiatives for the 2012 primary ballot. But the Texas Democratic Party has taken a decidedly progressive turn under the leadership of  Gilberto Hinojosa, who was elected chair of the state party at the June 2012 state Democratic Party convention. 

Demonstrating that Texas Democrats have a new will to offer Texas voters a contrasting choice to the Tea Party Republican brand of conservative politics, the SDEC, meeting in Galveston on Saturday October 12, 2013, approved 19 progressive ballot referenda measures for the March 2014 Primary.

The proposed referenda are expected to appear on the TDP web site in the near future for public review, and approval to be placed on Democratic Primary ballots in Texas' 254 counties.

The 19 proposed ballot referenda:

Monday, September 16, 2013

Texas Has Received Millions in ACA Grants

by and , The Texas Tribune - September 9, 2013

Despite strong opposition to the federal Affordable Care Act by Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders, Texas has still received nearly $100 million in grants through the law. And as U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz campaigns to defund Obamacare, the majority of the grants — 25 of 34 grants awarded since 2010 — have already been spent or will expire at the end of this month.

The interactive chart below explores the grants Texas has received through the ACA. Use the drop-down to sort by largest to smallest grants; grants issued to expand existing services; grants issued for innovation, planning and research; and grants focused on preventive measures.