Ballots

The SpaceX Starship blew up just after liftoff and folks are making wisecracks on social media. That’s what happens when the SpaceX owner is a total arsehole.

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Jen Rice and Alexandra Kanik of the Chron have put together a must-read piece on the ballot shortage problems in Harris County on Election Day in November of 2022.  They did an extensive review of the data and claims made by the GOP in their lawsuits against the county.

If you are curious about what happened on Election Day, read the article.

Here are parts:

A Houston Chronicle examination of election data found that while there were problems and technical glitches, there remains no evidence voters were systematically disenfranchised. Nor is there evidence the Election Day issues prompted people not to vote in numbers great enough to change the outcome of any of the races being contested.

And this:

Four of the Republican election judges who spoke with the Chronicle said investigators with the Texas Rangers or the Texas Attorney General’s office had reached out to them to get their account of Election Day, though none of the judges who are Democrats said they had been contacted.

And this:

One of the busiest polling locations in a Republican-leaning neighborhood is Trini Mendenhall Community Center, where Republican presiding judge William A. Harris confirmed they had “box after box after box” of paper. 

While many Republican judges told the Chronicle they believe the paper shortages were deliberately orchestrated, Harris said he doubted the elections office would be capable of pulling off a plan to target certain voters.

“I don’t think they have the comprehension or foresight to think that far ahead to screw it up that well,” Harris said. “It’s such a clusterfluster that it would be a mastermind master of operations to create such a screw-up.”

Kellianne Hill, the Democratic presiding judge at I P S P, a church in the Heights, said her polling location does not fit the GOP narrative.

“Well, I am a lifelong Democrat and my precinct is very Democratic and we did, in fact, run out of paper,” Hill said.

Here is the entire read: Harris County ballot shortage: Investigation reveals new details (houstonchronicle.com).

Let me say it again. Give me the names of those who did not get to vote because of ballot shortages. Election Day was more than five months ago and still not a single person has been produced who didn’t get to vote.

Look for the local GOP, Mattress Mack, and Wayne Dolcefino to dismiss the article because it doesn’t line up with their alternative facts.

Very good job Jen Rice and Alexandra Kanik.

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Jeremy Wallace of the Chron has an article on a bill The Dean is working on in Austin and here it is:

As part of Houston’s push to win the Republican National Convention in 2028, the George R. Brown Convention Center could be expanding.

State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, passed legislation out of the Senate this week that would allow Houston to use hotel occupancy taxes to make improvements and expand the convention center, though he did not detail what those plans might look like.

“Houston needs to modernize and expand the George R. Brown Convention Center to remain competitive and attract large conventions, such as the 2028 Republican National Convention,” Whitmire said in his push for the legislation.

The 2024 Republican National Convention has already been awarded to Milwaukee, and cities are competing for 2028. Nashville and Miami are among those that have reportedly made moves to host the event.

Houston was in the running for the Democratic National Convention in 2020 but was passed over for Milwaukee. It also submitted a bid for 2024, but that convention will be in Chicago.

Houston has not hosted a Republican National Convention since 1992 when George H.W. Bush was renominated for president but lost to Democrat Bill Clinton in the general election.

Houston last hosted a Democratic National Convention in 1928, when New York Gov. Alfred Smith was nominated but lost in the general election to Republican Herbert Hoover.

If Houston were to win the convention, it would be in July or August 2028 with most of the activity at the Toyota Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center. However, when conventions are held in a city, there are dozens of offshoot events that can happen all over the region in hotels and at college campuses.

Holly Clapham, chief marketing officer for Houston First, didn’t detail plans for a potential expansion but said if the legislation Whitmire is pushing becomes law, “it would help ensure Houston remains a Tier 1 convention destination for years to come.”

Houston Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt is among those opposing Whitmire’s bill because of how it is allowing hotel occupancy tax revenue to be used for expenses that weren’t originally intended. Bettencourt said he doesn’t want the Legislature to set a precedent for taxes collected for one purpose to be shifted to some other use.

“I am concerned about the long-term implications of it,” Bettencourt told Whitmire.

Whitmire, who is running for mayor of Houston, said similar legislation was previously passed to allow Dallas and Fort Worth to use hotel occupancy taxes to expand their convention centers, and he just wants Houston to have that chance so it can better compete for big national conventions.

The bill passed on a 26-5 vote and now heads to the Texas House where it also must pass in order to be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for final approval.

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No game today and the team goes to The ATL this weekend.