City Council Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Kaufman – It Pays To Be A Crony

Posted by Aaron Harris | September 18, 2017

Property taxes are the largest and most onerous taxes Texans pay. But in Kaufman County, it pays to be well-connected.

Donald Trump’s election victory has been broadly viewed as retaliation by hard-working Americans to frustration with today’s political establishment and its close companion—cronyism. The politically connected receive special treatment, while the average taxpayer foots the bill for both the taxes and special interest handouts.

While we often consider cronyism to be relegated to the federal level in Washington D.C., it’s not. Cronyism is alive and well in Texas, particularly at the local level. Kaufman County provides an egregious example with inequities found in the state property tax system.

DAT Files Election Complaint on Dallas County – 4th County

Posted by Direct Action Texas | April 14, 2017

Today Direct Action Texas (DAT) filed its 4th criminal complaint with the Texas Secretary of State’s office regarding election violations in as many counties.

This last Monday Dallas’ ABC affiliate ran a report on voters who have complained about receiving ballots which they did not apply for. When they requested copies of their alleged applications, voters told reports the handwriting is not theirs, nor the signature. (Watch the WFAA story here)

This came as no surprise to Direct Action Texas, we recognized the handwriting on the application shown on the screen as that of Jose Rodriquez. DAT has compiled an extensive amount of evidence on Mr. Rodriguez. Read More

Bipartisan Support for HB 2139

Posted by Christine Welborn | April 12, 2017

Due to the magnitude of the fraud Direct Action Texas has uncovered over the last 2 years, we have been calling for sensible reforms to come out of Austin. One of these is a bill authored by Representative Mike Schofield (R-Katy). House Bill 2139 would allow prosecutors to treat organized election fraud activity the same way it would treat other forms of organized crime, raising each penalty level one degree. Testimonies given in the House Committee on Elections revealed overwhelming bipartisan support.

Election Code Loopholes Hurt Candidates: And Help Harvesters

Posted by Christine Welborn | November 16, 2016

Imagine you are a candidate for office. The votes are in and you are just 50 votes short of victory. Your race was fiercely competitive and you suspect fraud in the results. You requested a recount already, it came out with the same results. If there is fraud, it must be in the mail-in ballots. What do you do?

Contesting an election is costly and time consuming so a candidate needs all the information possible to determine if he or she should proceed. One of the first things a candidate will want to see are the mail in ballots and applications. (For reasoning behind this: The Fort Worth Way) This sounds like a reasonable request, right? Not so fast. There are a few pieces of the Election Code blocking the way.

Election Law In Texas Is Broken

Posted by Jake Thomas | November 14, 2016

“If democracy stands for the principle of one person one vote then ballot harvesting stands for the principle one person one hundred votes” – Prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Office.

If you take a moment to talk to those in charge of prosecuting the election code, you’ll quickly find out just how broken the election code is, as well as how hard it is to criminally convict one who is guilty of election fraud and ballot harvesting. Reform is needed in order to stop those who would seek to undermine our elections and disrespect those who have marched, protested and, more importantly, died for our right to vote.

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