Good morning,

It is easy to imagine noncitizens being registered to vote somewhere else. Yesterday, we asked if readers thought such illegal activity was occurring in their own communities. Find their insights below.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Private Property Advocates Warn of Biden-Harris Overreach

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is implementing the Biden-Harris administration's Sustains Act, which critics say will undermine property rights. Debra McClure has the details.
       
• American Stewards of Liberty argue the new law promotes a United Nations agenda that shifts property assets from private to federal and international control. 
            
• The Sustains Act aligns with the UN 30×30 agenda, aiming to control 30 percent of global land and oceans by 2030. Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller and Attorney General Ken Paxton are among those officials who have condemned the administration's attempts to "weaponize" environmental policies.

Autistic Preschooler Left on Dallas ISD Bus for Entire School Day

• A four-year-old Dallas girl was left on a hot bus until the end of the school day, despite district policies requiring drivers to check the buses for students before disembarking. Emily Medeiros reports the girl was treated for dehydration after being found by a different bus driver.
      
• The girl, who is non-verbal and autistic, was left on a Dallas Independent School District bus last week in 90-degree heat for seven hours.
       

• The school district issued a statement claiming to be "appalled" by the incident.

Paxton Suit Blocks Biden-Harris Gender Mutilation Push

• The Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to force federally funded healthcare institutions to perform gender mutilation surgeries has been blocked nationwide as the result of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Will Biagini explains the administration's rule sought to preempt state legislation on the issue.
     
• The lawsuit argued that the rule—put forward under the auspices of the Affordable Care Act—circumvented the U.S. Constitution and worked to sidestep state law. 
       
• “When Biden and Harris sidestep the Constitution to force their unlawful, extremist agenda on the American public, we are fighting back and stopping them.” – Ken Paxton
      
• The Biden administration is expected to appeal the ruling.

Trustee Fights to Release School Ratings

• A school board trustee has petitioned to intervene in a lawsuit aimed at preventing the Texas Education Agency from releasing A-F accountability ratings of school districts across the state for a second year. Erin Anderson has the story.
       
• Brandon Hodges, a trustee with Midland Independent School District, wants the ratings released. He is arguing that the data is “essential” to his job. Further, Hodges believes the state-mandated STAAR exams are “a wasted effort” without the release of the A-F accountability ratings.
             
• More than 100 Texas school districts sued the TEA last year to block the release of the 2023 ratings, claiming changes in how the scores were calculated unfairly assigned lower grades to the districts. A judge put a hold on releasing the ratings while that litigation is pending. A second lawsuit was recently filed to block the release of the 2024 ratings.
       
• In announcing his push to intervene in this new lawsuit, Hodges wrote that the school report card ratings provide critical information for parents and taxpayers.

City Charter Amendment Election Halted in Austin

• A permanent injunction has been issued against 13 proposed amendments to the City of Austin’s charter, preventing them from going before the voters in November. As Adam Cahn reports, a Travis County judge issued the injunction because of a lawsuit filed by a group advocating for environmental causes and government ethics.
       
• Save Our Springs has argued the city failed to provide public notice that they would discuss the proposed charter amendments during their budget hearing on August 14. Under the Texas Open Meetings Act, governmental entities must seek public input before undertaking these actions.
          
• The city could try again to add those amendments in 2025.

RELATED NEWS

• Last month, it was reported that the Dallas City Council is facing multiple lawsuits over proposed city charter amendments that would reportedly undermine citizen-led reforms. 

Girls’ School Employee Charged with Assaulting Student

• A now-former employee of an all-girls school in Houston Independent School District is accused of assaulting an underage student multiple times in his office and classroom closet after connecting with her via a gaming app. Jesus Zamora worked as an “advocacy teacher”—or a “non-teaching staff member”—at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy.
       
• The assaults allegedly began in March 2023, when the man told the girl she “owed” him when he won a video game and forced her to kiss him in a classroom closet as a reward. 
       
• Zamora was booked into Harris County Jail on August 29 and is being held on a $300,000 bond—$150,000 for each of the two charges brought against him.

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Quote-Unquote

"Those who own the country ought to govern it."

– John Jay​

Y'All Answered

Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced some 6,500 noncitizens had been removed from the voter rolls—2,000 of whom had voting histories. Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton has created a "tipline" for Texans to report suspected violations of state election laws.

Yesterday, we asked readers if they thought illegal aliens or other noncitizens were registered to vote in their communities. Just under three-quarters (72.2 percent) of readers believe this is happening, while 27.8 percent do not.

Here is a sampling of replies we received from individuals after they took the survey...

• “Illegal aliens, dead people, people who no longer live here, and people who never were here are all on the voter rolls.” – David Vargha
      

• “This is Austin. Of course, noncitizens are voting.” – Cindy Armstrong
      

• “Are you kidding me? Of course, there are illegals registered to vote in my district.” – Charles Koenig III
      

• “I live in a county that has a whole subdivision of illegals. I'm sure you all have heard of Colony Ridge.” – Vicky Jackson
          

• “My best guess, even though I live in Williamson County, is probably.” – Rick Goncher
      

• “We are here: DPS is required to verify citizenship status; federal data on illegal immigration is unreliable; AG Paxton announced an investigation into questionable voter-registration efforts under the nose of DPS Director McCraw; and McCraw announced his retirement. I do not question the integrity of my election administrator, but no EA’s data is better than the data provided by DPS. Considering the 2020 election, what’s a reasonable suspicion?” – Mark Juleg
      

• “I live in Harris County and this is most definitely a problem and should be dealt with here.” – Nita Sergent
      

• “I want to say that no illegals are registered to vote in McKinney or anywhere else in Collin County, but I don't know that for sure.” – Ann Sampson
      

• “I believe noncitizen voting is the only reason the Biden/Harris administration has flooded the country with millions of immigrants.” – Jerry Harben
     

• “I think illegal voting is in EVERY community, though I have no proof.  It has been way too ‘circumstantial’ in the last few elections for someone to come from behind at the last second.  This has to stop.” – Kimberly Ingram
      

• “I know that my father was still on the voter rolls because I got a call soliciting his vote 4 years after he died.  I asked how they got his name and was told it was from the voter registry. … I believe that our county elections office tries hard to maintain accurate voter registrations, but I'm certain some slip through the cracks.  I'd like to think that there's not nearly as much fraud in Midland County as in some other districts.” – Steve Price
      

• “While I do not personally know any illegal aliens registered to vote in my community, I believe it’s like asking if there are any ants at a picnic. Just because they aren’t on my picnic blanket, it doesn’t mean they aren’t in the park!” – Karen Breazeale
      

• “I live in rural Northeast Texas.  No illegals registered here that I am aware of. However, we are vigilant.” – John Denison
      

• “In a small community, everyone knows everyone. If an illegal shows up to vote, the poll workers would recognize it immediately, so it pretty much doesn't happen. The problem is the big blue cities, with their anonymity and propensity for cheating.” – Markay Rister
       

• “I don’t know for a fact if we have non-citizens on the voter rolls here. But I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. An awful lot of screwy stuff seems to happen every election.” – Bob Davis

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