Politics

Photos: Voting on the Forty Acres

University of Texas students turned out in strong numbers at campus polling locations Tuesday for national, state and local elections.
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Disability Rights Groups Celebrate Ruling That Improves Accessibility for Voters — for Now 

byMadeline de Figueiredo 

Voters with disabilities could get expanded access to the ballot this election season after a federal judge struck down Texas laws limiting voter assistance.
The Oct. 11 ruling has yielded cautious celebration from activist and advocacy communities on the eve of early voting, which begins Monday. But the state might appeal the decision in time to thwart voter assistance efforts. 
“The ruling protects the rights of Texas voters with disabilities to get the assistance they need without fear of prosecution,” said Bob Kafka, the state coordinator for REV UP Texas, one of the groups that challenged the law.

Mexican Actor Says Latinos Can Change Texas Politics If They Vote

byKatrina L. Spencer

Latinos in Texas have the power to change the state’s political landscape if they vote in greater numbers, Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía told a group of about 200 Central Texas residents Monday. 
“Somos un chingo,” Huerta Mejía said, referencing the fact that Latinos are a large part of the Texas electorate.
Huerta Mejía, who starred in the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” was invited to speak on the University of Texas at Austin campus by NextGen America, an organization working to promote progressive public policy and increase voter turnout.

LGBTQ+ Parents: “Don’t Say Gay” Bills Threaten Families

byLaura Miguel

House Bill 1155, by Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through eighth grade. 

One State Representative is Fighting to Stop Texas from Executing People With Mental Illness

bySamantha Eisenmenger

House Bill 727, by Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, would end the death penalty fo people with “severe mental illness.” Rose filed similar measures during the last three legislative sessions, but none have made it to the governor’s desk. However, each time her bills were voted on they gained more bi-partisan support, including Representative Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who joint-authored the bill in 2021.

Texas Republicans Look to Expand Restrictions on Trans Athletes to College

byCorey Smith

Texas Republicans — who passed a law in 2021 banning transgender athletes from competing on K-12 sports teams that match their gender identity —  are working to extend restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports.

House Bill 23, by Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, would prohibit transgender public college students from joining college sports teams that align with their gender identity. The bill stipulates that athletes participate on teams based on the “biological sex” listed on their birth certificate. The measure would allow women to compete on men’s teams if there is no corresponding women’s team available.

Chinese Americans March in Austin, Call for Withdraw of Bills

byJinpeng Li

“Stop racism! Stop fascism! Stop Chinese hate! Stop Asian hate!” protesters yelled, shouted and chanted. Almost 300 people speaking English and Chinese from Austin, Houston, College Station and from across the state gathered in front of the State Capital Sunday.  “We are angry and disappointed at a series of bills, such as SB147 and SB552, […]

How Asian Texans Are Working to Improve Their Community’s Political Engagement, Representation

byJinpeng Li

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in Texas, increasing by 68% to 1.6 million people in the past decade, according to the 2020 Census. But Asians remain underrepresented in the Texas Legislature and other state offices. 

Issues, Voting Challenges Made Midterms Personal for Highly Engaged Students

byKatie Pratt and Lisette Lopez

Young voters across a divided nation are being credited by political analysts for preventing a Republican-dominated midterm from coming to life. Yet, that “red wave” did come to shore in the Lone Star State. Every statewide Republican candidate won by double percentage points, and a frustration from the large majority of UT students the day after the election was palpable. Still, at UT Austin, the lead-up to the 2022 midterm election was marked by a strong passion from students getting out the vote and campaigning for ideas and candidates they believed in.

Political Action Groups Battle for Texas School Board Power Amid Fights Over Book Bans and Race

byCorey Smith

Battles over removal of LGBTQ-themed books from libraries and the teaching of race in Texas schools are moving to the ballot boxes in hotly contested school board elections. 

Poll Watchers Gearing Up for Midterms With New Texas Election Law in Effect

bySamantha Eisenmenger

Growing political distrust fueled by former President Donald Trump’s unsupported claims of election fraud in 2020 has increased interest in Texans becoming poll watchers this year. The Texas secretary of state office says 4,480 Texans completed a new poll watcher certification training program that launched Feb. 1.

Conservative UT-Austin Students Say They Often Feel Marginalized by Peers

byFallon Sheffield

A number of conservative students at the University of Texas at Austin say they feel marginalized for their political beliefs. In the era of growing intolerance, where labels such as “woke politics” and “culture wars” makes “political correctness” seem almost polite, conservative students on college campuses, including UT-Austin, also say they often find themselves branded […]