Off the Kuff

Off the Kuff The official page of the Off the Kuff blog Texas' longest continually published progressive political blog, founded January 1, 2002.

A few thoughts about the election, including turnout, Taylor Rehmet, pollsters spiking the football, and a failed effort...
11/06/2025

A few thoughts about the election, including turnout, Taylor Rehmet, pollsters spiking the football, and a failed effort to put some limits on a Bitcoin mining facility.

Early voting in Harris County wrapped up Friday with some of the lowest voting turnouts in recent years for Texas’ most populous county. but still higher than in past non-mayoral elections. According to unofficial totals from the Harris County Clerk’s Office, about 212,000 votes were cast during...

And just like that, Metro has restored signal priority for the Main Street Line, without ever once explaining why they s...
11/06/2025

And just like that, Metro has restored signal priority for the Main Street Line, without ever once explaining why they screwed with it in the first place or what they got out of the experience.

Metro officials restored signal priority Wednesday to the Red Line light rail in downtown Houston following weeks of pushback from riders who complained about the sluggish pace of the route.

Buckle up, the Fifth Circuit will hear the Ten Commandments case in January.
11/06/2025

Buckle up, the Fifth Circuit will hear the Ten Commandments case in January.

The U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals says it will hear appeals in January in the legal fights in Texas and Louisiana over whether public schools must display copies of the Ten Commandments.

It's Menefee-Edwards in CD18, Salinas-Boykins in At Large #4, Maria Benzon and Michael McDonough won in HISD while Audr...
11/05/2025

It's Menefee-Edwards in CD18, Salinas-Boykins in At Large #4, Maria Benzon and Michael McDonough won in HISD while Audrey Nath lost, all of the Cy-Fair wingnuts were routed, and the constitutional amendments all passed. Oh, and Taylor Rehmet got nearly 48% in SD09, a significant improvement in performance over past elections there.

All 17 constitutional amendments were on the path to passing. Most of them merited a No vote, but once these things get on the ballot they usually pass. Some Democratic legislators should be asked very pointed questions about why they supported them in the first place.

Whatever race you were looking at nationally yesterday, it's very likely the good guy won. Virginia, New Jersey, NYC May...
11/05/2025

Whatever race you were looking at nationally yesterday, it's very likely the good guy won. Virginia, New Jersey, NYC Mayor, and California redistricting were all called literally within minutes of the polls closing. It was a good day.

Watching the national results last night turned out to be pretty easy, as Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and then Zohran Mamdani were all declared winners within minutes of their polls closing. You’ve got to love that kind of decisiveness, especially when it’s in favor of the good guys. To ...

Of course there was a plan to remove signal priority for the Main Street light rail line that was carried out in secret.
11/04/2025

Of course there was a plan to remove signal priority for the Main Street light rail line that was carried out in secret.

Newly obtained emails show that Houston’s decision to remove signal priority for downtown MetroRail trains may have been fueled by politics, and that city officials made the change despite internal concerns about reliability and the lack of safety considerations.

A second lawsuit has been filed against Texas' new app age verification law, this time by big tech companies.
11/04/2025

A second lawsuit has been filed against Texas' new app age verification law, this time by big tech companies.

A coalition of major technology companies has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas over its new App Store Accountability Act, arguing that the measure violates the First Amendment by imposing sweeping age-verification and parental consent requirements.

Cities around Texas are painting over or preparing to paint over not just rainbow crosswalks but crosswalks with other a...
11/04/2025

Cities around Texas are painting over or preparing to paint over not just rainbow crosswalks but crosswalks with other art as well.

At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks.

Election Day for November 2025 is tomorrow. Get ready to go vote if you haven't already.
11/03/2025

Election Day for November 2025 is tomorrow. Get ready to go vote if you haven't already.

The Harris County Clerk’s Office (HCCO) reminds registered voters that Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, 2025, the final opportunity to cast a ballot in this election.

A New York court has tossed Ken Paxton's lawsuit against the county clerk that refused to process the $100K judgment he ...
11/03/2025

A New York court has tossed Ken Paxton's lawsuit against the county clerk that refused to process the $100K judgment he tried to file against a New York doctor who provides mifepristone to women in Texas.

A New York judge dismissed a legal challenge Friday from Texas seeking to enforce a more than $100,000 civil judgment against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a Dallas-area woman in an early test of the state’s “shield law” designed to protect providers.

The Secretary of State has responded to the Republican Party of Texas' lawsuit that would force party registration for p...
11/03/2025

The Secretary of State has responded to the Republican Party of Texas' lawsuit that would force party registration for primaries. Also, Ken Paxton is now involved.

Texas’ top election official is opposing a GOP lawsuit that seeks to close the state’s primaries, arguing in new legal filings that a decision to restrict voting to registered party members should be up to lawmakers, not the courts.

The final early voting tally in Harris County is higher than the overall vote was in 2017 and almost as high as it was i...
11/02/2025

The final early voting tally in Harris County is higher than the overall vote was in 2017 and almost as high as it was in 2021. I presume the CD18 race is pulling a lot of voters to the polls.

I think it’s safe to say that the turnout from this year will be higher than in 2017 or 2021, whether you look at it as raw numbers or a percentage of registered voters.

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