Texas
Texas avoided election violence. Advocates say voters still need more protection.
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After two years of fears of electoral dysfunction and violence, voting rights advocates breathed bated sighs of aid this week as Texas completed a comparatively calm midterm election cycle.
“It was a little bit bit higher than I assumed, however I additionally had very low expectations,” mentioned Anthony Gutierrez, govt director of the voting rights group Frequent Trigger Texas. “We had been actually involved about violence on the polls, and most of that was fairly restricted.”
However he’s not celebrating.
Citing hundreds of voter complaints obtained all through the midterm cycle, Frequent Trigger and different voter advocacy teams need the Texas Legislature to bolster voter safety and training measures and revisit not too long ago handed legal guidelines that empowered partisan ballot watchers.
The complaints ranged from lengthy strains, malfunctioning machines and delayed ballot web site openings to harassment, intimidation, threats and misinformation. Frequent Trigger obtained a minimum of 3,000 such complaints on its tipline, Gutierrez mentioned, and many of the harassment, misinformation and intimidation allegations got here from voters of coloration, sparking fears that there have been focused efforts to quell election turnout in 2022 and future contests.
Different voting rights teams mentioned this week that they noticed the same variety of complaints. They warned that even remoted incidents can have reverberating results on voter confidence or exacerbate political tensions which can be already at harmful ranges.
“It might be chilling to hundreds and hundreds of voters,” mentioned Emily Eby, senior election safety legal professional for the Texas Civil Rights Venture. “We will’t underestimate the impression of worry coming into the voting equation.”
The 2022 cycle was the primary main electoral contest for the reason that passage of Senate Invoice 1, a package deal of voting legal guidelines that the Texas Legislature pursued partly on account of unfounded claims of widespread fraud within the 2020 presidential election. The laws tightened mail-in voter identification necessities, banned drive-thru and 24-hour voting and curtailed early-voting hours.
It additionally enhanced partisan ballot watchers’ entry to polling locations, giving them “free motion” at websites and permitting for misdemeanor costs to be pursued towards election officers accused of obstructing them “in a way that may make commentary not fairly efficient.”
Voting and civil rights teams warned on the time that the brand new legislation — coupled with rising election denialism — would disproportionately disenfranchise voters of coloration in Texas. In 2020, Texas had probably the most Black eligible voters within the nation, the second-largest variety of Hispanic eligible voters and the third-largest variety of Asian eligible voters, in response to Pew Analysis Middle. Texas has routinely ranked among the many nation’s most restrictive for voting on account of, amongst different issues, its tight guidelines on mail-in and absentee ballots. This yr, Texas ranked forty sixth out of fifty states for ease of voting, in response to the Election Legislation Journal’s annual Value of Voting Index.
In the meantime, election fraud issues have continued to flourish since 2020 — notably amongst Republicans — and native election workplaces have been inundated with harassment, overbearing info requests from activists and threats of violence that led to an unprecedented mass exodus of longtime election officers throughout the state.
A lot of these points continued by way of Election Day. In Dallas, Black voters reported that they had been requested handy over their telephones and smartwatches earlier than coming into polling locations — which isn’t Texas coverage and raised suspicions about intimidation.
In Beaumont, a federal choose issued an emergency order on Monday that prohibited partisan ballot watchers at one web site from shadowing voters. The order adopted a lawsuit by the native NAACP that mentioned Black voters had been being harassed whereas voting.
“White ballot employees all through early voting repeatedly requested in aggressive tones solely Black voters and never White voters to recite, out loud inside the earshot of different voters, ballot employees, and ballot watchers, their addresses, even when the voter was already checked in by a ballot employee,” the go well with claims. “White ballot employees and White ballot watchers adopted Black voters and in some circumstances their Black voter assistants across the polling place, together with standing two ft behind a Black voter and the assistant, whereas the voter was on the machine casting a poll.”
And in Hays County, election officers mentioned they needed to have a handful of partisan ballot watchers eliminated as a result of they had been intimidating voters and election employees. The ballot watchers had been already identified to officers there due to their ties to election-denial activist campaigns which have more and more focused Hays County.
“For probably the most half every part was tremendous,” mentioned Jennifer Doinoff, the county’s Republican election administrator. “We had just a few (ballot watchers) that did not actually perceive their position. … However there have been additionally just a few whose demeanor was aggressive and intimidating. I feel they felt a little bit extra empowered on this election.”
Whereas voting rights teams mentioned Texas could have prevented the worst of their fears — these of wide-scale violence and harassment — they mentioned there have been sufficient incidents to immediate lawmakers to rethink elements of SB1 once they convene early subsequent yr.
“If I really feel nervous that my life might change into extra sophisticated if I forged a poll, I’m much less prone to forged a poll,” mentioned Eby.
Christina Das, an legal professional with the NAACP’s Authorized Protection Fund, mentioned additionally they heard a whole lot of complaints that didn’t contain ballot watchers however had been nonetheless regarding as a result of they improve fears of retaliation or political violence by personal actors.
“Most individuals do not know that voter intimidation doesn’t have to resort to bodily violence or threats,” she mentioned. “Intimidation is something that chills voters from going to the poll field.”
Among the many a whole lot of different incidents reported to voting rights teams: Threatening letters left on the properties of Beto O’Rourke voters, calling them “enemies of the state” and saying they “don’t have a gun to guard your self and your loved ones;” folks sporting clothes with “Cease the Steal” and “Let’s go Brandon” (a slogan supposed to insult President Joe Biden) that had been allowed into polling locations regardless of bans on political garb; studies of a Travis County precinct chair who knocked on doorways to accuse folks of unlawful voting; mailers despatched to predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods with inaccurate details about the place to vote; and what Das mentioned had been “racially charged” insults that made some voters worry for his or her security at polling locations.
“One voter mentioned she was dropped at tears and needed to depart the road to throw up,” Das mentioned. “It was horrible to listen to — there have been circumstances of visceral, palpable hate at polling locations.”
Voting rights teams are nonetheless gathering and analyzing ideas, however say there may be already ample proof that the state ought to overhaul a few of its voting processes, together with by increasing on-line voter registration, curbing the prison penalties for election officers which can be allowed below SB1 and bolstering voter training and outreach to fight misinformation.
Gutierrez, of Frequent Trigger, prompt the state permit election officers to evaluate notes taken by partisan ballot watchers to quell fears that they may observe and harass voters afterward.
Teams additionally prompt that Texas undertake a evaluate of intimidation and misinformation within the 2022 contest. Texas Secretary of State John Scott didn’t reply to a request for remark, nor did Texas Home Speaker Dade Phelan or different lawmakers who helped push by way of Senate Invoice 1, reminiscent of state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola.
Voting rights advocates additionally mentioned the Legislature ought to higher fund elections workplaces and increase voting choices so Texas can keep away from the lengthy strains and machine points which have for years been a function of American elections. These delays have at instances given oxygen to voter fraud conspiracies.
For instance, in Harris County, a rash of points led to a one-hour extension of voting, which prompted a court docket problem that pressured Harris County to separate provisional ballots forged after the preliminary 7 p.m. deadline. The quantity and standing of these ballots had been nonetheless unclear as of Thursday, although officers have mentioned they don’t anticipate them to alter the result of any races.
Eby, of the Texas Civil Rights Venture, mentioned that avoiding such dysfunction is essential to stemming mistrust within the electoral course of extra broadly — and earlier than it results in threats, intimidation or violence.
“Lots of the misinformation points come from reliable issues which have occurred with machines,” she mentioned. “If we’re funding our election workplaces adequately, then it’s more durable to unfold that misinformation as a result of that misinformation received’t be primarily based on a grain of reality.”
“The extra that we fund counties, the extra they’ll act as a safety measure,” she mentioned.
Whereas Texas prevented widespread chaos this yr, Gutierrez agreed that there’s nonetheless a lot room for enchancment — notably forward of a 2024 presidential election that many anticipate to be contentious.
“Most of what we noticed this yr had been fairly widespread issues in Texas,” he mentioned. “However it’s value remembering that loads of the issues we’ve got in Texas are as a result of Texas doesn’t put money into infrastructure or training.”
Disclosure: Frequent Trigger and Texas Secretary of State have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full listing of them right here.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit statewide information group devoted to maintaining Texans knowledgeable on politics and coverage points that impression their communities. This election season, Texans across the state will flip to The Texas Tribune for the data they want on voting, election outcomes, evaluation of key races and extra. Get the most recent.
Texas
Piecing Together the Story of Texas’s First Black-Owned Pottery
I chase ghosts! That is, I investigate the forgotten spirits and legacies of enslaved and free potters in Texas during and after the Civil War in the United States of America. This journey began with a 1991 conversation with my graduate advisor John Brough Miller, professor of ceramics at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, during which he shared the legend of John McKamie Wilson and enslaved potters in Seguin, Texas. Nearly a quarter century later, in 2014, an internet search led me to the website of the Wilson Pottery Foundation, created by the descendants of Hiram, James, and Wallace Wilson, the founders of H. Wilson and Co. Pottery. Three years later, in 2017, I attended the annual Wilson Pottery Show at the Sebastopol House in Seguin and was surprised by the amount of Wilson antique pottery on display and the number of collectors of it. I left the show with a heightened interest in the Wilson Potters.
In 2018, Tarrant County College District, where I was an assistant professor of Ceramics, awarded me faculty leave to research the H. Wilson & Co. Pottery, which is located in Capote, Texas, approximately 48 miles east of San Antonio and 12 miles east of Seguin. A search on Ancestry.com led me to a database of United States craftspeople ranging from 1600 to 1995, which lists Hiram Wilson as the founder of H. Wilson and Co. Pottery. Hiram was formerly an enslaved potter at the Guadalupe Pottery owned by John McKamie Wilson from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Scholars believe H. Wilson and Co. Pottery was the first business owned by an African American in Texas.
A deeper dive led to the other Wilson Potteries (designated as sites by the Texas Historical Commission, which identifies them by number) in the Capote area, including the aforementioned Guadalupe Pottery (41GU6), which was the first Wilson pottery site operated by John McKamie Wilson and his enslaved potters. H. Wilson & Co. (41GU5) was the second site, started by formerly enslaved potters from the Guadalupe site. The third Wilson pottery site (41GU4) was the Durham-Chandler Pottery, owned by Marion “MJ” Durham, a White man, and John Chandler, a formerly enslaved potter trained in the acclaimed Edgefield District of South Carolina. (These sites are often referred to as “First Site,” “Second Site,” and “Third Site” by collectors to help differentiate the pottery produced at each. Second Site pieces, for instance, are more valuable than First Site pieces.) After Hiram died in 1884, H. Wilson & Co. was believed to have merged with Durham-Chandler to become Durham-Chandler-Wilson. According to the United States Craftsperson Files database, Durham-Chandler-Wilson was founded in 1870, which may indicate that Hiram worked at the third site with James, Wallace, and other itinerant potters.
I propose that the relationship between these three sites might stretch back further than folklore holds. What if Marion “MJ” Durham and John McKamie Wilson’s families knew each other in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina? What if Durham was one of the primary investors in the Guadalupe Pottery with John McKamie Wilson? A partnership with Durham would support Wilson’s decision to build a pottery company in Capote. As a member of the Durham potting dynasty in South Carolina, the former certainly possessed the knowledge and pottery production skills to ensure a sound investment.
During my faculty development leave, I visited local historical societies, which were warm and informative. Some locations were rich in artifacts, whereas others had a wealth of documentation supporting the local community. On top of attending the 2018 pottery show at the Wilson Pottery Museum in the Sebastopol House in Seguin, I interviewed Wilson’s descendants, collectors, and others who shared various stories that led them to the show. One gentleman shared his salt-glazed one-gallon H. Wilson & Co. stamped pot he purchased at a thrift store in Austin, Texas. One notable takeaway from this interview session was how often collectors referenced San Antonio-based Texas pottery scholar and pediatrician Dr. Georgeanna Greer. She helped rediscover the Wilson potteries after the sites had been dormant for over 50 years; I discovered the depth of her research when I visited historical societies in East Texas. I was overwhelmed and excited to find letters written by her to local archivists requesting or sharing information on local pottery sites.
In 2020, I curated a solo exhibition in the Carillon Gallery at Tarrant County College South Campus in Fort Worth, Texas, which suggested a narrative and timeline to these potters by tracing the development of certain techniques. The centerpiece of the show, however, was not the ceramic pieces inspired by the Wilson potters and created for the exhibition, but rather the research identifying those who worked at one or more pottery sites seen via posters, including James and Wallace (and possibly Hiram) Wilson. Pots attributed to the first site, Guadalupe Pottery, suggests that Isaac and George Suttles, potters from Ohio, may have introduced the salt glazing technique found on pieces attributed to the first site’s pottery, as the practice originates from those trained in the North. The Suttles brothers later opened a pottery near Lavernia, Texas.
The discovery of this extensive pottery community in Capote redirected my focus toward East Texas, known as the entry point of Texas westward expansion. A visit to the William J. Hill Texas Artisans and Artists Archive was crucial to helping me collect information on East Texas potters. A visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Bayou Bend Collections and Garden was also helpful in allowing me to examine Wilson Pottery from all three sites. Through the former, I located a “Checklist of Texas Potters ca 1840-1940,” compiled by Bob Helberg. This list provided names of formerly enslaved potters in the East Texas region, such as Milligan Frazier, A. Prothro, Elix Brown, and Joseph Cogburn. This in turn opened up another world of research possibilities. What if the pottery of the shops praised for their magnificent work such as Guadalupe Pottery were actually produced by trained enslaved laborers instead of the shop’s namesake? In other words, did the early Texas potters continue the industrial enslavement system that made the Edgefield District community in South Carolina famous?
This research is just a start. As I journey from central Texas back to Edgefield, South Carolina, searching for pottery families who migrated west before 1860 with their enslaved labor, bits and pieces of sherds are coming together to recreate the life stories of these potters. A beautiful mosaic is beginning to emerge.
Texas
Texas football 2025 offensive line preview: Besides guard DJ Campbell who else returns?
With Texas football now in the offseason, the American-Statesman is breaking down each position group.
Who’s gone from the 2024 squad that went 13-3 and fell a win short a national title-game appearance? Who’s back? And what portal arrivals and freshmen from the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class have joined the team?
The Longhorns are coming off an impressive season that include a record 16-game schedule, a spot in the SEC championship game, a spot in the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second consecutive season, and a final ranking of No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches Poll for the past season. The ranking marks the best showing for the Longhorns in the final coaches poll since 2009. The 53 coaches who vote in the coaches poll listed Texas behind just national champion Ohio State and national runner-up Notre Dame.
Can Texas make another push for a CFP spot in 2025? The roster has a few holes but also boasts loads of potential, as evident by the program’s high ranking in way-too-early preseason polls.
This week, the Statesman will have a daily position-by-position breakdown of the 2025 Texas roster entering the offseason. Earlier this week, we looked at quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. Today, we look at the Longhorns’ offensive line.
Texas football OL: Who’s gone?
Center Jake Majors (eligibility); guard Hayden Conner (eligibility); tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. (early NFL entry); tackle Cameron Williams (early NFL entry).
Texas football OL: Who’s back?
Rising senior guard DJ Campbell; rising senior guard Cole Hutson; rising redshirt junior center Connor Roberston; rising redshirt junior guard Malik Ogbo; rising redshirt junior guard Neto Umeozulu; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Trevor Goosby; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Jaydon Chatman; rising redshirt sophomore tackle Andre Cojoe; rising redshirt sophomore guard Connor Stroh; rising redshirt freshman tackle Brandon Baker; rising redshirt freshman tackle Nate Kibble; rising redshirt freshman guard Daniel Cruz.
Texas football OL: Who’s new?
Freshman Nick Brooks, a four-star recruit from Loganville, Georgia; Jackson Christian, a three-star recruit from Port Neches-Groves; Jordan Coleman, a three-star recruit from Cedar Hill; Devin Coleman, a three-star recruit from Cedar Hill.
Texas football OL: Overview
Four players depart after starting multiple seasons, but the Texas coaches are quietly optimistic about welding together another formidable front. Campbell returns as one starter at guard, and fellow guard Hutson also has plenty of starting experience. The versatile Hutson could also start at center, which would free up a guard spot for Umeozulu, who has impressed the coaches. Goosby will enter the season as a presumed starter at one tackle spot after getting one-game starts on both ends in 2024, and former five-star recruit Brandon Baker has the look of a prototypical left tackle. Plenty of young talent will battle for the remaining snaps.
Reach Texas beat reporter Thomas Jones via email at tjones@statesman.com.
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Texas
Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson Reprise 'True Detective' Roles, Push for Texas-Based Productions
McConaughey calls for more Hollywood productions filmed in Texas, following the state senate’s $498 million proposal to revamp the Texas Film Incentive
Texas-born actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson reprised their True Detective roles in a video on Wednesday as they urged the state legislature to bring more Hollywood productions to the Lone Star state.
The four minute clip, True to Texas, follows McConaughey and Harrelson down a desolate two-way road, and it feels reminiscent of their True Detective personas Detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart from the franchise’s first season. With Dennis Quaid handcuffed in the backseat, the trio make proposals to create Hollywood films, TV shows, music videos, and commercials on Texas soil. Calling Hollywood a tuneless, “flat circle of wood,” McConaughey calls for a film and TV production shift.
“This industry is like somebody’s memory of an industry, and the memory’s fading,” McConaughey says. “I’m talking about a whole new hub for film and television. A renaissance. A rebirth.”
The Texas senate announced last week that it would direct $498 million to revamp the Texas Film Incentive, with the aim of making the state the “movie capital of the world.” Small films and TV commercials will received $48 million in grants, and the state will receive $450 million in new tax credits, which will include a Texas residency requirement for workers. Texas gets $4 back for every $1 invested as the state creates new jobs, the state senate said.
Other Hollywood performers and directors have pushed for Texas-bound productions. During a legislative hearing last year — in which Quaid shared a testimonial — Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan said that his “love Story to Texas” Hell or High Water should’ve been filmed in the state.
The new promo video also recruits Billy Bob Thornton and and Renée Zellweger, who support the action.
“I’ve been hotel hopping in all these other states for way too long,” Zellweger adds. “And I get it, I mean making a production is hard and if all these other states are going to offer an incentive, then that’s where we’re going to keep going. I just wish we could bring some of these production home to Texas.”
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