It seems a few short hours ago that long lines for early voting in Texas would rewrite the Lone Star State's dominant political map. Even national outlets were touting the possibility that after the votes were counted, we'd see a decidedly purple Texas – if not a blue one. But looking at the Texas Tribune's county-by-county color map of presidential returns, you'd have to squint pretty hard to miss the red sea. That's not to say there weren't gains for Democrats, or to dismiss the response of Democratic party insiders insisting that Texas is one step closer to historic political change. But the familiarity of the refrain, heard in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 is certainly cause for pause. Pollster Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight website points to Starr County along the border, where 96 percent of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin. It notes Hillary Clinton won Starr County by about 60 points in 2016. This year, Joe Biden carried it by only five. What, if anything, such examples say about the so-called "emerging Democratic party" thesis – much less, monolithic assumptions about how certain blocs of Texans vote and why – merit serious consideration. I am reminded of some of our coverage in the run-up to this year's election produced by our own Kristen Cabrera , which pointed to the complexities of seeing our political world exclusively through certain lenses that may distort expectations. There's much more to be explored in the wake of the general election, and we'll be doing that in coming days and weeks. In the meantime, we invite you to dig deeper below. And make sure not to miss the Texas Standard Special "Ofrenda: A Decimation of People, A Celebration of Life" hosted by the Standard's Joy Díaz. Time well spent. Until next week, we'll see you on the radio.

- David Brown

Work safe, Texas. Texas Work Comp Insurance

Texas Democrats Had Big Hopes For 2020. Those Hopes Were Mostly Dashed.

The party hoped to flip six congressional seats and nine Texas House seats this election and pull off a close presidential race in the state. So far, it looks like none of that happened.

Here’s How Votes Are Counted In Texas

The big lesson? It might take a long time for official results because with a large turnout, vote counting simply takes time.

Harris County’s Votes Are Safe. The Future of Drive-Thru Voting Is A Bit Murkier.

The validity of 127,000 early votes cast at drive-thru sites in Harris County is no longer in question. But local officials curtailed drive-thru plans for Election Day after several lawsuits.

For El Paso Band EEP, Inspiration Comes From Home And Collaboration

In January 2019, eclectic "shoegaze" band EEP formed in El Paso. Less than two years later, they’re receiving international recognition for an energetic, eight-song LP.

Cornyn Bests Hegar, Winning Reelection To U.S. Senate Seat (KERA North Texas)
GOP Candidate Troy Nehls Wins TX-22 In A Closely-Watched Race (Houston Public Media)
2020 Travis County Results: Democrats Win In Every County Race (KUT Austin)
Northeast Texas Republicans Roll To Victory (KETR)

Well, we kind of knew we were going to have to wait, right? We were forewarned that these elections were going to be very close in some races and that it'll require patience to know the full results. So we are waiting. It's precisely in moments like this that journalists should show their commitment to accurate, fair and non-partisan reporting. And that's what the Texas Standard team is going to do. My name is Teresa Frontado and I'm the executive editor of KUT News, of which the Texas Standard is part. Our team has been preparing for months to cover this election. We have talked about the logistics of news coverage during a pandemic; we worked with our technical team to ensure we could broadcast even from remote locations; we have assigned shifts, prepared rundowns. And we have discussed at length what it means to be fair, non-partisan and accurate in challenging times. For us, it translates in a series of commitments to you, our audience. For example, we'll bring you confirmed information only. This means that we double check our facts with sources before we put it in any of our platforms (on-air or digital). We understand the importance of getting it right and we are giving it priority over getting it out fast. And if mistakes are made, we will correct them quickly and thoroughly on the platforms where the content was published. We are following NPR's lead and relying on The Associated Press (AP), a news organization with a track record of precision and caution, to call election results. For local races that aren't covered by the AP, we'll wait until all votes are counted. We invite you to wait together. Send us your comments via email, or through the Texas Standard Facebook or Twitter pages. PS: Want to know how I spent my time yesterday, waiting for results to roll in? Since our newsroom worked virtually due to the pandemic, I hit the road to deliver that election night staple – newsroom pizza! – to the KUT and Texas Standard teams. With so much change, it’s nice to hold on to some traditions.

- Teresa Frontado
@tfrontado

Ofrenda: A Decimation of People, A Celebration of Life

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