Early Voting Extended for November Election
Gov. Greg Abbott extended early voting for the Nov. 3 general election by six days due to difficulties presented by COVID-19.
Early voting will now begin on Oct. 13, 2020 and last until Oct. 30, 2020. Prior to the governor's order, early voting was set to begin Oct. 19.
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Rule on Texas Mail-In Voting Procedures as Problems Persist
The U.S. Supreme Court last month refused
to decide whether all Texas voters should be allowed to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic, which left in place the state's current regulations for its July 14 runoff elections.
The decision came a week after the Court declined to expand voting in a similar case brought by the Texas Democratic Party.
Texas Democrats have argued that voters who are especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 should be able to vote by mail. Currently, Texas law allows mail-in voting for those who are 65 or older, confined in jail, will be out of the county during the election period, or cite a disability or illness.
Meanwhile, there were several reports of problems with mail-in voting in some of the state's most recent runoff elections. Some eligible voters applied to vote by mail but reported never receiving a ballot, while others who sent in their mail-in ballots had them returned unopened.
Rep. Rodriguez Drops out of State Senate Race, Conceding Austin's District 14 to Sarah Eckhardt
After former Travis County Judge and Democrat Sarah Eckhardt finished first in a six-way special election on July 14, the race for the District 14 seat was set to head to a runoff with second-place finisher state Rep. Eddie
Rodriguez (D-Austin).
However, Rodriguez later announced he will drop out of the race and focus his efforts on the Texas House.
While Rodriguez finished second in the special election to replace outgoing state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) with 34 percent of the vote, Eckhardt was less than one percentage point away from winning the seat outright with 49.7 percent support.
In Runoff Races, Four Texas House Incumbents Lose Their Seats to Primary Challengers
On July 14, Texans voted in 16 runoff elections to determine their parties' respective candidates for the November general elections. The results are below:
Senate Democratic Primary Runoffs
District 19 - Roland Gutierrez (52.7%) defeated Xochil Pena Rodriguez (47.3%). The seat is currently held by Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton).
District 27 -
Incumbent Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (53.6%) defeated Sarah Stapleton Barrera (46.4%).
House Republican Primary Runoffs
District 2 - Bryan Slaton (61.1%) defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Canton) (38.9%).
District 25 - Cody Thane Vasut (69.5%) defeated Ro-Vin Garrett (30.5%). The seat is being vacated by Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton).
District 26 - Jacey Jetton
(52.4%) defeated Matt Morgan (47.6%). The seat is being vacated by Rep. Rick Miller (R-Sugar Land).
District 45 -
Carrie Isaac (64.9%) defeated Kent Wymore (35.1%). The seat is currently held by Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood).
District 47
- Justin Berry (54.6%) defeated Jennifer Fleck (45.4%). The seat is currently held by Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin).
District 59 -
Shelby Slawson (61.5%) defeated incumbent Rep. J.D. Sheffield (R-Gatesville) (38.5%).
District 60 -
Glenn Rogers (51.5%) defeated John Francis (48.5%). The seat is being vacated by Rep. Mike Lang (R-Granbury).
House Democratic Primary Runoffs
District 26 -
L. Sarah DeMerchant (52.4%) defeated Suleman Lalani (47.6%). The seat is being vacated by Rep. Rick Miller (R-Sugar Land).
District 67 - Lorenzo Sanchez
(51.1%) defeated Tom Adair (48.9%). The seat is currently held by Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano).
District 100 -
Jasmine Felicia Crockett (50.4%) defeated incumbent Rep. Lorraine Birabil (D-Dallas) (49.6%).
District 119 -
Elizabeth Campos (56.1%) defeated Jennifer Ramos (43.9%). The seat is being vacated by Rep. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio).
District 138 -
Akilah Bacy (79.5%) defeated Jenifer Rene Pool (20.5%). The seat is currently held by Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston).
District 142 -
Incumbent Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. (D-Houston) (52.3%) defeated Jerry Davis (47.7%).
District 148 -
Penny Morales Shaw (51.2%) defeated incumbent Rep. Anna Eastman (D-Houston) (48.8%).
