How difficult would it be to rig an election?

There’s no evidence of any systematic voter fraud in Dallas County. But we’re not sure what safeguards are in place to prevent fraud from happening here.

Clerical errors to blame in two voters’ records, elections chief says

Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet says clerical errors by his department are to blame in two cases of questionable voting activity Texas Watchdog wrote about Thursday.
In this video report, Sherbet showed WFAA-TV the sign-in records for voter Howard Ingram’s polling place in March 2008. The records showed a stamp by the Foley Street resident’s [...]

Dallas County: Flagged voters can vote

Dallas County’s elections chief was quoted Thursday by the Dallas Morning News, criticizing our recent investigation that found more than 6,000 voters on the county rolls who may be dead.
One of elections administrator Bruce Sherbet’s points was that many of those voters wouldn’t be able to show up and vote because they had been flagged [...]

Polling place books may hold clues in mystery of Dallas County’s dead voters

Texas Watchdog plans to examine polling place books in the elections where dead people’s names were used to cast ballots. (See our story here about the more than 6,000 Dallas County voters who may be dead and the dozens who appear to have voted after their deaths.)
The books will hopefully hold clues in the mystery [...]

Dead voters may have cast ballots in Dallas County

More than 6,000 registered Dallas County voters may be deceased. The names of some of them, including Melvin Porter (left), have been used to cast ballots after their deaths, records show.

Burning down the House: A look at the Dallas state rep races

D Magazine publisher and editor Wick Allison breaks down two competitive House races in Dallas County:
The first is District 102 in the North Dallas area featuring Republican incumbent Tony Goolsby versus challenger Carol Kent, where Allison gives a slight edge to the well-funded Goolsby.
The second is District 107 in East Dallas featuring Democratic incumbent Allen [...]

Habitual conflict of interest? State Rep. Hubert Vo uses his state letterhead for his business. Again.

Earlier this month, state Rep. Hubert Vo found himself in a delicate spot when he wrote a self-serving letter on official state stationery to Houston police. In his correspondence, the Democratic incumbent complained about how the police were handling problems at the slummy apartment complexes he owns.
When asked about that letter, Vo’s spokesperson Kelly Fero [...]

Dallas politico Adrain Noe accused of credit card theft in Iowa and Texas

One-time Dallas fundraiser Adrain Noe turned up in an Iowa jail on credit card theft charges. His peers in the Big D say he did the same thing here.

Kim Brimer and the miracle of the Interwebs

Look who discovered the Web just in time for the election.
One of the dimmest campaigns in recent history.

Texas Senate does too much business in secret, Wentworth says

The Texas Senate does too much of its business in secret, a leading Senate Republican said Friday at an Austin conference on open government issues.
Jeff Wentworth, the six-term Senator from San Antonio and chairman of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, said that he was “concerned about the way the Senate does its business,” saying too [...]

Fort Worth sitting on list of city workers with unpaid parking tickets

Fort Worth officials are trying to keep secret a list of about 350 city workers who have unpaid parking tickets, the Star-Telegram said today.
From reporter Mike Lee’s story:

A lawyer for the city contended that the list is exempt from public disclosure under an exception to the Texas Public Information Act. The law requires cities to [...]

Unlike state officials, Dallas County officials don’t post campaign data online.

The Internet has been in popular use for a dozen years, roadside motels offer free WiFi and elderly women trade stocks online. But in Dallas County, if you want to see who’s bankrolling a candidate for sheriff or judge, you can’t simply fire up your browser and see the campaign reports for yourself.
(Reports for the [...]

Commissioners Court refers ethics proposal to county attorney. Again.

It happened again. The Harris County Commissioners Court has re-referred an ethics reform proposal, which would require lobbyists to register with the county, to the county attorney’s office.
From The Houston Chronicle:
The move could delay action on the reform plan for weeks or months, depending on how quickly the county attorney’s office completes the study. It [...]

Public can take closer look at legislators’ finances via interactive map

Football tickets from Texas Tech, paintings representing West Texas and “One Nation Under God,” and a .38-caliber pistol: They’re all examples of some of the gifts received by Texas’ legislators last year.
Lawmakers and other Texas officials are required to disclose gifts worth $250 or more by listing them on personal financial disclosure reports collected by [...]

Ethics report gets its day in court

Lobbyists would have to register with the county under ethics requirements the Harris County Commissioners Court was set to take up this morning.
While anyone can pull up a full list of lobbyists at the state legislature, and each registered lobbyist’s activities, Harris County currently does not require lobbyists whose clients have an interest in county [...]

Minor offenses to bring citations in Austin

People suspected of misdemeanor offenses such as marijuana possession, when the amount is small, and suspended licenses, would be cited instead of taken to jail under a new Austin Police Department policy, the Austin American-Statesman reported over the weekend.
Such Class A and Class B misdemeanors also include theft or criminal mischief that results in [...]

Bayou Vista aldermen want judge to squelch critics

Not that there’s anything unconstitutional about this …
From this morning’s Galveston Daily News:

BAYOU VISTA — Two Bayou Vista aldermen, who have been under fire for their support of cutting the salaries of some city employees, are asking a judge to stop some of their detractors from publicly criticizing them.
Aldermen Chris Gimenez and Bret Jamail say [...]

Charity chief accused of fraud also major donor to Texas GOP figures

Prominent El Paso businessman Robert E. Jones had turned a struggling charity hiring people with disabilities into a major defense contractor doing nearly a billion dollars’ worth of business with the Pentagon –- and his arrest last week on fraud charges has been big news across Texas.
But what’s gotten less attention is the fact that [...]

AG: Vague agenda items don’t cut it under Sunshine Law

Here’s a novel concept: Government meeting agendas that actually tell you what’s going to be talked about. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says that’s how governments need to be writing their agendas, or they could be breaking the state’s sunshine law, according to this morning’s Dallas Morning News.
From the story by Jon Nielsen:
The opinion [...]

Dallas lays off 415 teachers — and half of its in-house fraud detection squad

The financial mess in the Dallas school system cost 415 teachers their jobs this week, the local press reported. The front office was still trying to work out student schedules and other logistics on Friday, which was a regularly scheduled half-day for students. Meanwhile, the schools’ internal anti-corruption unit has been downsized by 50 percent, [...]

Blogger who fought for Perry’s e-mails wins statewide FOI award

The Wisconsin blogger who messed with Texas — specifically, with Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s practice of deleting e-mails — has won the 2008 James Madison Award from the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and will be honored at a luncheon next Friday.
You might recall when John Washburn began asking to see Perry’s e-mails last [...]

Dead voters may still be on rolls on Election Day: County

More than 4,000 people on Harris County’s voter rolls who may be deceased will still be on those rolls when voters begin casting early ballots Monday — and they still may be on the rolls on Election Day, county officials told KPRC Local 2 investigates Friday.
An investigation by Texas Watchdog earlier this month found more [...]