Good morning –

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Federal Judge Says Texas Can’t Reject Mail Ballots with Wrong Voter ID

• A federal judge ruled that Texas election officials cannot reject mail-in ballots with wrong or missing identification numbers. Erin Anderson has the details.
      
• The voter ID requirement for mail-in ballots was enacted as part of a comprehensive election integrity measure passed by the Texas Legislature in 2021. Adding voter ID to mail-in ballots extended the same safeguard to voting by mail that was in place at the in-person voting locations.
       
• The Biden Administration sued, describing wrong or missing voter ID as “minor paperwork errors.”
       
• U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez found that the voter ID requirement violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He said that providing a correct voter ID is “not material in determining whether voters are qualified under Texas law to vote or cast a mail ballot.”
      
• The state is expected to appeal the ruling.

Teacher Unions Coach Educators to Inject Classrooms with Ideology

• A new report shows that two influential teacher unions are coaching educators to inject radical gender ideology politics into their classrooms. Emily Medeiros reports on new findings from the Defense of Freedom Institute focusing on the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
        
• In Texas, the NEA is affiliated with the Texas State Teachers Association, while AFT has its own chapter with multiple locations around the state.
         
• The Defense of Freedom Institute report details how at AFT’s recent conference teachers were coached on installing gender ideology politics in their classrooms. The NEA, meanwhile, has claimed that prohibiting teachers from discussing sexuality with elementary school children would hinder their mental health.

Texas Power Grid Breaks Peak Energy Demand Record, Again

• With Texans facing more days with triple-digit temperatures, Katy Marshall reports the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced that the state’s power grid broke both the peak weekend and all-time energy demand record. 

      
• Earlier this month, the power grid broke the all-time peak energy demand record for the tenth time this summer.
       
• Texas is under an ERCOT Weather Watch. The organization has encouraged Texans to monitor grid conditions until August 27.

Police Chief Retires as Austin Policing Crisis Continues

• Amid staffing shortages in the Austin Police Department and rising crime, the city's chief of police is retiring from what public safety advocates have deemed a “totally dysfunctional city government.” Sydnie Henry has the story.
       
• Joseph Chacon has been Austin's police chief since April 2021.
      
• More than 800 officers have left the APD in the last six years, coinciding with the rise of an increasingly hostile city council that slashed funding for the department in 2021.
       
• Among other indicators, the city’s murder rate has spiked, and studies show Austin now has the 15th-highest homicide rate in the nation.

Conroe ISD Bus Aide Caught Beating Student Had Criminal Record

• Newly uncovered records show that a Conroe ISD bus aide who was caught on camera beating a student had a criminal record. Brandon Waltens reports the bus monitor has been dismissed by the district and faces criminal charges.

      
• Earlier this month, Conroe ISD bus monitor Donald Tisdel was seen beating a student with an object. In the video shared widely on social media, there is no indication of what started the altercation but at no point is the student seen fighting back.
       

• Tisdel had previous arrests and convictions for offenses including theft, possession of a controlled substance, and failure to stop and render aid. 

Directory of Your U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal.