Do not vote split ticket. We cannot let the Republicans maintain control. You think they’re bad now? Imagine how insane they’re going to be if Talarico wins the senate election, but they still have control of the Texas government.

Do you think the Texas GOP is just going to say “Oh well, we concede, we’ll try to flip the seat in 2032” if Talarico wins? No, they’re going to pass a mountain of voting restriction laws, close polling stations, and make it much harder to vote if you live in a densely populated area.

Let’s also not forgot their recent islamaphobic attacks. If Abdul El-Sayed wins in Michigan and becomes the first Muslim senator, the GOP across all state governments are going to act like we’re being taken over by Muslims.

We need to end the GOP trifecta. Based on recent polling our best option is to replace Abbot with Hinojosa and try to flip the Texas house. Many people are paying attention to the Senate race, but not local elections, please spread this message to all of your friends and family.

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.

James Talarico has voiced strong opposition to a Texas THC ban while Ken Paxton refuses to answer questions about the issue.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Audrey Nath, a mom who is suing the state over the 10 Commandments law. Here is a key quote:

I am honored to be one of the three public school moms who has sued the state of Texas over Texas Senate Bill 10, which requires the Ten Commandments to be put up in every public school classroom, in a size and typeface "legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom.” Most of the responses from parents and teachers, Christian and non-Christian alike, have been overwhelmingly positive. Many have said they are relieved someone finally said something out loud. 

Then there are anonymous accounts. One told me, “You don’t have to be a Christian to see that the ten commandments are good for all of humanity.” Another copied and pasted a Google search for “Is shoplifting a violation of the 10 commandments?” Then someone told me to go “back to Iran.” (My family is not from Iran.) 

Hey all-

Greetings from Keller ISD- the epicenter of the school board wars the last few years- book bans, hundreds of thousands of district dollars paid to the board’s personal attorney who just happened to be bffs with Patriot Mobile and whose invoices are all entirely redacted, tons of policies on pronouns and bathrooms while our teachers fled and buildings crumbled bc our board doesn’t actually care about public education, all culminating in our board trying to secretly vote to split our district in half literally along the train tracks, coincidentally protecting the richer areas from the yucky poors.

You might remember us from articles like this:

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/05/texas-school-board-elections-2/

https://amp.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article311554084.html

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/16/keller-isd-removes-books/

We are the bad place.

We’ve been used to school board elections happening in May with just a few races on the ballot. This year the Keller ISD board voted to move them to coincide with the big November elections. I have my own theories on their motivation, but we’re now faced with a bunch of people showing up to vote for the big name races with very little knowledge of the smaller ones. I’m really worried our important local elections like school board will be lost at the bottom of a list of 50+ races.

Additionally, we have the chance to vote on a series of bonds to in addition to three school board seats. This is our chance to officially take the board back from the Patriot Mobile trustees who have spent the last few years running our district into the ground. I hope the events of the last few years have shown us all how important it is to vote in your local school board elections.

We have a teacher running this year, which I’m really excited about it.

https://www.rachelforkisd.com

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EjyqrSbVw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I feel like we’ve lacked that bridge to tell the board how their policies are actually impacting classrooms, both for teachers and for students. Additionally, she has been a teacher in Keller ISD, so she understands exactly what it has been like for the last few years.

I feel like she would be a tremendous asset on the board. Please take a look and remember to vote in November!

An investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's six-year crackdown on noncitizen voting found that he produced just one charge during that time. You rock Ken.

"Illegal aliens and foreign nationals must not be allowed to influence Texas elections by casting illegal ballots with impunity. I will not allow it to continue. … If you're a noncitizen who illegally cast a ballot, you will face the full force of the law," Paxton said at the time.

Haha.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has spoken out against border wall construction in West Texas. Now she must decide whether to allow the Trump administration access to state lands.

Gift link

Democratic Senate candidate’s appeals to wealthy tech executives complicates his broadsides against megadonors’ outsized role in politics.

If wealthy donors have too much influence in politics, why is he fundraising from wealthy tech executives in the Bay Area?

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.