Voting Info for Harris County

Amy requested this and I thought I would post it for everyone.

All of the races are partisan this time and there are no silly or stealth candidates so you could just look for the D.

Some photos and links from the Harris County Democratic Party HQ for many races.

Harris County Young Democrats endorsements are here but they overstate what the candidates agreed to for their endorsement - most may not be for a death penalty moratorium for example.

Most of the ballot is taking up by judge races. That is hard to provide information on as the Chronicle has some pretty lame endorsements and reasons this year while some are OK. The PDF of Houston Bar poll results is here but should really be taken with some skepticism as they are a pretty partisan GOP bunch. For example - Bill Moody for the Texas Supreme Court is favored by the Texas Bar and most major newspapers over the GOP incumbent and even picked up the very Republican Dallas Morning News endorsement. The mainly Republican Houston Bar had a majority not supporting him. As 60 Minutes reported twice, the Texas (all Republican, all corporate lawyer) Supreme Court members actively solicit campaign funds from big law firms and corporate businesses with cases before them.

I would normally refer you to the Houston League of Women Voters but they have blotched it this election. Their Voting Guide is not out yet despite not giving many candidates enough time to respond. UPDATE: The Voting Guide came out Tuesday or Wednesday after early voting starting but they did not change the notice on their website that it was still being prepared. They did manage to get responses from a number of pretty stupid candidates according to Pat and Clear Lake Amy - PDF of LWV Voter's Guide here.

Here are the 33 Early voting locations for Harris County on an interactive map.

To find all of your voting ballot choices go here then go down and enter your name or address. That location will also give you your voting location for election day.

A Warning on Ads.

Most of the Republican political ads you see will be negative - ask me for fact checks on any claims you see. Perry's 60% decline in border crime is almost pure fiction, for example. It compared crime in rural unpopulated counties for times when they had special border crossing forces operating there compared to crime in those counties a year ago without the border sweep operations. The result was a reduction of a couple hundred crimes at most at a cost of millions of dollars only in very rural areas, not in any border cities. Crime could even have gone up in areas the smugglers diverted to. There is a reason his ad uses percentages and not numbers and doesn't describe this claim in any detail.

This year I have had enough, when in doubt throw the bum out. I recommend early voting for a shorter, easier time casting your ballot.

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