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CITY OF HOUSTON AND MEMORIAL PARK WELCOME THE RETURN OF THE HOUSTON OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT
Statement from Mayor Turner on Federal Court’s Decision upholding Drive-Thru Voting
Statement from Mayor Turner on Federal Court’s Decision upholding Drive-Thru Voting
Mayor Sylvester Turner today released the following statement following a decision by U.S. Federal District Judge Andew Hanen on drive-thru voting:
“The right of people to vote is sacred. Once individuals have cast their vote in a process set up by Harris County, approved by the Texas Secretary of State and affirmed by the Texas Supreme Court, it would have been devastating for a federal judge to toss out even one ballot, let alone 127,000 votes.
“The fact that a specific group sought to suppress and void these ballots is unconscionable. I am glad the federal judge said no.
“These frivolous, divisive, and suppressive attempts to thwart people’s right to vote must stop. The individuals cast their ballot at one of the 10 safe, secure, and legal drive-through voting locations throughout Harris County.
“I encourage those who have not voted to exercise their right by using their voice and their vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.”
Funded by Harris County’s COVID-19
Funded by Harris County’s COVID-19 Emergency Direct Assistance Program
Harris County is providing $40 million in funding to help people who are suffering financial hardship brought on by COVID-19. Households that are selected and approved will receive a one-time payment of $1,200 for emergency expenses.
Program Overview
Harris County partnered with Catholic Charities as the administrator for $40 million in emergency financial assistance to help Harris County residents who are experiencing financial distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- For households located within Harris County that meet eligibility requirements
- One-time $1,200 payment
- Funds may be used for emergency expenses such as healthcare, rent, utilities, food, internet connectivity, transportation and childcare.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- Your household must be located in Harris County.
- If you already received other COVID-19 related assistance from Harris County, you are not eligible.
- Your household must have at least one member enrolled in a public assistance program or have total household income less than 60% of the HUD Area Median Family Income at the time of application.
- Households must demonstrate impact on income due to COVID.
- Limited funds may be available for individuals who do not meet federal funding requirements.
Harris County launches new $40 million COVID-19 relief fund
Starting today, Harris County families in need can register to get $1,200 in coronavirus relief.
Harris County has issued a new $40 million COVID-19 relief fund to help residents in need during the pandemic that will be administered by Houston Catholic Charities.
Applications open today and will be accepted through Friday, Nov. 6.
The program will provide one-time payments of $1,200 to up to 33,333 families struggling with financial hardships related to COVID-19.
The payments will be distributed in two rounds. The first round is already underway and is assisting families who applied, but did not receive help from the county’s coronavirus relief program that was launched earlier this summer.
The second, “public,” round begins today.
The money can be used for any type of emergency expense, such as housing, food, utilities, healthcare, childcare and transportation.
This is not a first come, first served enrollment. Instead, families will be selected randomly after the registration period ends.
Families can apply on their own without cooperation from a landlord or anyone else.
“Thousands of families across Harris County have struggled to overcome the financial damage from COVID-19,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “While this relief will not reach everyone who needs it, we must do everything in our power to help those who are vulnerable pull through.”
The fund is entirely need-based, and the money will be distributed equally across the county’s four precincts.
To qualify, you must live in Harris County, prove the pandemic has impacted your income and earn below the median family income line.
Harris County residents living inside the city of Houston will not be excluded.
Fine Italian Dining at Hotel Granduca and High Tea
~ HAPPENING NOW AT HOTEL GRANDUCA HOUSTON ~
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Indulge in a tier of fine pastries and sandwiches while sipping on a fragant and refreshing cup of tea or champagne during Hotel Granduca’s Afternoon Tea time!
Meet at the Magnificent Manor House
The Manor House Executive Package
Judge rejects GOP challenge of 127,000 Harris County drive-thru ballots
A federal judge ruled Monday that Republicans lack standing to challenge 127,000 drive-thru ballots in Harris County they argue were cast illegally.
Expecting a potential appeal, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered Harris County to keep all drive-thru memory cards separate in case a higher court intervenes.
The latest ruling in the ongoing court battle over drive-thru voting came after a two-hour hearing in a Houston federal court, where Republicans sought to toss the ballots, saying the sites are less secure than in-person polling sites. In his ruling, Hanen said, “I ain’t buying that.”
Hanen, an appointee of George W. Bush, also said if he did find the GOP had standing, he would likely halt drive-thru voting on Election Day.
After the ruling, Democratic Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins confirmed that all 10 drive-thru sites will be open on Tuesday. Some 1 million eligible voters still haven’t cast ballots.
Earlier Monday morning, reporters were told there wasn’t enough room in the courtroom for the hearing because of COVID-19 restrictions, and a conference call line set up to allow reporters to listen in stopped functioning before the hearing started. Eventually some reporters gained access.
Hanen was expected to hear from Republicans, including Houston activist Steve Hotze, state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, Wendell Champion, a candidate for the 18th Congressional District, and Sharon Hemphill, who is running for election for judge of the Texas 80th District Court. They argue that drive-thru voting is not permitted under the Texas Election Code.
The state Supreme Court on Sunday declined to hear a similar case, and rejected a similar challenge to drive-thru voting from Republicans on Oct. 22.
Richard Mithoff, who is representing Harris County, argued this morning that Purcell Supreme Court precedent should guide here, that federal courts should not intervene in election case when the election is already underway.
Jared Woodfill, who is representing the plaintiffs, argued that the Texas Election Code does not allow the drive-thru option. He said the Legislature installed “prophylactic measures” to protect ballot security that do not include drive-thru voting. Those measures include curbside voting for the disabled and elderly.
Woodfill accused Hollins of using pandemic as excuse to invent a new, illegal form of voting.
Hanen pushed back against Purcell, asking “if you know they are voting illegally, shouldn’t the court do something?”
Dozens of protesters congregated outside the downtown federal courthouse on Monday awaiting the court’s decision, chanting “count every vote.”
Protester Adrien Moshenberg said she voted in a drive-thru location and was dismayed to hear her vote might not count. She voted Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, but said she is not a straight-party voter.
“Some of the people that I voted for are actually the people trying to take away my vote and if I’m given the chance to cast a provisional ballot tomorrow, I won’t make that mistake again,” she said.
Daniel Cohen, president of the progressive group Indivisible Houston, called the court case “anti-democratic” at its core.
“All this is is a strategy by a few extremists to sow chaos headed into the 2020 election,” he said. “Those people voted in good faith.”
One of those people was Maria Canales, 40, who said she has dealt with voter suppression tactics as a Latina.
“This felt like one more time at a critical point,” she said.
U.S. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia called it “silly” that anyone would try to invalidate the drive-thru votes.
“When you set up a process, you plan it, you vet it,” she said. “I think sometimes when people are desperate and they see they’re losing, they do things like this.”
Hollins said the drive-thru option, which Harris County launched this year, is legal and was approved by the Secretary of State’s office. In court filings, the county has noted that its election plans have been public since August, and only after voting started in October did the Republicans file suit.
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion in October stating that drive-thru voting was not legal.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Sunday said tossing the drive-thru ballots would be “an outrageous act of voter suppression.”
During the early vote period, 126,988 people voted at the county’s 10 drive-thru sites, 9 percent of the total.
These ballots disproportionately came from precincts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke two years later, a Houston Chronicle analysis found.
In a ranking of the precincts that produced the most drive-thru votes, the top half of these precincts accounted for 88 percent of these ballots. Clinton won 59 percent support in these precincts, well above her countywide performance.
The trend was even more pronounced in the top quarter of precincts that produced the most drive-thru votes, in which Clinton earned 67 percent of the vote. The bottom half of drive-thru-vote precincts accounted for less than 12 percent of these ballots. There President Donald Trump in 2016 and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz won by slim majorities, slightly above 50 percent, though losing the county badly.
METRO Offering Free Round-Trip Rides to the Polls on Election Day
METRO Offering Free Round-Trip Rides to the Polls on Election Day
METRO is providing complimentary trips to polling locations on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Passengers travelling on METRORail, local buses, METRORapid and METROLift only need to inform bus operators and/or fare inspectors they are going to, or returning from, the polls.
Traveling to the polls to cast your vote is considered an essential trip.
METROLift customers can click here for additional information on how you can travel to the polls to cast your ballot.
Patrons needing customized directions can map out their trip with the RideMETRO mobile app or on RideMETRO.org. For information on polling locations visit the Harris Votes website.
METRO’s Customer Service team is also available to answer questions and provide trip planning information. Contact 713-635-4000 for more information. Se habla español.
Se forma la tormenta tropical Eta sin representar amenaza alguna para Texas
¿Cuál es el peligro?:
La tormenta tropical Eta se formó al este de América Central. Eta es la tormenta con nombre número 28 de la temporada de huracanes de 2020, y esta es la primera vez que se producen más de 6 tormentas bajo el alfabeto griego en una sola temporada de huracanes. Según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes, Eta, se encuentra al oeste suroeste de Nicaragua y Honduras sin representar amenaza alguna para Texas.
Qué necesita hacer:
La temporada de huracanes concluye el 30 de noviembre. Si bien la tormenta tropical Eta no afectará a Texas, aún debe cerciorarse que usted y su familia estén preparados.
HAGA UN PLAN
- Revise el plan de emergencia de su familia, incluido lo que hará si permanece aquí o si evacua.
- Recuerde tomar en cuenta que el distanciamiento social todavía es necesario para COVID-19.
- Si reside en una zona de evacuación (Zip Zone) y necesita ayuda para evacuar por una tormenta que amenaza nuestra región, ahora es el momento de llamar al 2-1-1 para solicitar asistencia.
- A medida que avanzamos hacia el pico de la temporada de huracanes, se le aconseja a los propietarios e inquilinos comunicarse con su agente de seguros para adquirir un seguro contra inundación. Recuerde, el daño por inundación no está cubierto por la mayoría de las pólizas de propietarios o inquilinos. Tome las medidas adecuadas para asegurarse de que su hogar y sus pertenecías están protegidas al registrarse en el Programa Nacional de Seguro contra Inundación. Vaya a https://www.floodsmart.gov/ para obtener más información.
Tropical Storm Eta Forms, No Threat to Texas
- Review your family’s emergency plan, including what you will do if you stay or if you evacuate.
- Remember to take into account that social distancing is still needed for COVID-19.
- If you live in an evacuation zone (Zip Zone) and will need assistance evacuating for a storm that threatens our region, now is the time to call 2-1-1 or go online to register for assistance.
- As we move into to peak hurricane season, homeowners and renters should contact their insurance agent about purchasing flood insurance. Remember, flood damage is not covered by most homeowners or renters policies. Take action now to ensure that your home and contents are protected by enrolling in the National Flood Insurance Program. Go to https://www.floodsmart.gov/ for more information.