Texas Republicans Look To Curb Local Efforts To Expand Voting Access Harris County around Houston used drive-thru voting and extended voting hours to boost turnout in 2020. Republican leaders in Texas say such efforts were an overreach.FromToggle more optionsLast year, when Isabel Longoria had to figure out how to safely hold an election during a pandemic, she saw the daunting task as an opportunity to do things differently. "I just started dreaming," says Longoria, the elections administrator for Harris County in Texas. "And I just said, 'OK, let's start from the beginning — not with...…Texas Republicans Look To Curb Local Efforts To Expand Voting Access Harris County around Houston used drive-thru voting and extended voting hours to boost turnout in 2020. Republican leaders in Texas say such efforts were an overreach.FromToggle more optionsLast year, when Isabel Longoria had to figure out how to safely hold an election during a pandemic, she saw the daunting task as an opportunity to do things differently. "I just started dreaming," says Longoria, the elections administrator for Harris County in Texas. "And I just said, 'OK, let's start from the beginning — not with...WW…

Edgar Barguiarena and his fiancee, Marissa Javaid, wanted to see family in Houston over the holidays, so they decided to get COVID-19 tests before their trip.Javaid noticed a drive-thru testing site at Austin Emergency Center on South Lamar. It was advertising results within 48 hours, which they thought was perfect.“They had maybe a banner that said ‘PCR testing with a quick turnaround,’” Barguiarena said, “and we were looking for that.”Austin Emergency Center runs four freestanding ERs in Austin. These are emergency rooms not attached to hospitals.Barguiarena and Javaid drove out to the ER...…Edgar Barguiarena and his fiancee, Marissa Javaid, wanted to see family in Houston over the holidays, so they decided to get COVID-19 tests before their trip.Javaid noticed a drive-thru testing site at Austin Emergency Center on South Lamar. It was advertising results within 48 hours, which they thought was perfect.“They had maybe a banner that said ‘PCR testing with a quick turnaround,’” Barguiarena said, “and we were looking for that.”Austin Emergency Center runs four freestanding ERs in Austin. These are emergency rooms not attached to hospitals.Barguiarena and Javaid drove out to the ER...WW…

Communities of color have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic. But advocates in Texas say those communities are likely to have a harder time getting the vaccine in the coming months, so they are urging local leaders to step in.This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes NPR, KUT and Kaiser Health News. It can beTravis County Judge , the county executive in the Austin area, put together a vaccination event recently. Brown said he’d been hearing concerns that there weren’t enough places to get a covid-19 shot on the east side of Austin, which has more Black and...…Communities of color have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic. But advocates in Texas say those communities are likely to have a harder time getting the vaccine in the coming months, so they are urging local leaders to step in.This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes NPR, KUT and Kaiser Health News. It can beTravis County Judge , the county executive in the Austin area, put together a vaccination event recently. Brown said he’d been hearing concerns that there weren’t enough places to get a covid-19 shot on the east side of Austin, which has more Black and...WW…

Texas Officials Call For Changes In Initial COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Several officials in Austin pushed back on Texas' initial COVID-19 vaccination plan, which would've put just nine of the city's 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse east side.Heard onFromToggle more optionsSeveral officials in Austin pushed back on Texas' initial COVID-19 vaccination plan, which would've put just nine of the city's 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse east side.ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:Many communities of color have been disproportionately gutted by COVID-19. People are...…Texas Officials Call For Changes In Initial COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Several officials in Austin pushed back on Texas' initial COVID-19 vaccination plan, which would've put just nine of the city's 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse east side.Heard onFromToggle more optionsSeveral officials in Austin pushed back on Texas' initial COVID-19 vaccination plan, which would've put just nine of the city's 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse east side.ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:Many communities of color have been disproportionately gutted by COVID-19. People are...WW…

Down Ballot State Elections To Watch In 2020 Millions of dollars are flowing into state legislative races. Redistricting and the coronavirus are expected to be top of the policy agenda in 2021 and party control could mean everything.When it comes to the presidency and the U.S. Senate, Democrats are largely playing offense. That's true further down the ballot, too, for the offices where many of the policies that affect our daily lives are made: state legislatures. Voters will decide on more than 5,800 state lawmaker seats next week. With control of 40 chambers to Republicans' 58, Democrats...…Down Ballot State Elections To Watch In 2020 Millions of dollars are flowing into state legislative races. Redistricting and the coronavirus are expected to be top of the policy agenda in 2021 and party control could mean everything.When it comes to the presidency and the U.S. Senate, Democrats are largely playing offense. That's true further down the ballot, too, for the offices where many of the policies that affect our daily lives are made: state legislatures. Voters will decide on more than 5,800 state lawmaker seats next week. With control of 40 chambers to Republicans' 58, Democrats...WW…

About half a million Texans under 30 have voted so far, according to  from Tufts University. “As of October 21, more than 3 million young people (ages 18-29) have already voted early or absentee in the 2020 elections,” researchers wrote, speaking of the overall U.S. turnout. “The numbers are especially dramatic in a state like Texas, where at least 490,000 young people have already cast ballots.” Voter engagement among young people has been growing in the past several years, said Kristian Lundberg, an associate researcher at the Center for Information and Research on Civic...…About half a million Texans under 30 have voted so far, according to  from Tufts University. “As of October 21, more than 3 million young people (ages 18-29) have already voted early or absentee in the 2020 elections,” researchers wrote, speaking of the overall U.S. turnout. “The numbers are especially dramatic in a state like Texas, where at least 490,000 young people have already cast ballots.” Voter engagement among young people has been growing in the past several years, said Kristian Lundberg, an associate researcher at the Center for Information and Research on Civic...WW…

This story is part of a partnership that includes ,  and Kaiser Health News.Steve Alvarez started feeling sick around Father’s Day weekend this year. His symptoms started as mild, but developed into a fever, chills and shortness of breath he couldn’t shake.“Just when I started to get to feeling better and I would have a couple of good days,” Alvarez said. “I felt like I’d backtrack and I was just really run down. This thing lingered and lingered.”Alvarez, a Tejano musician who lives in the San Antonio area, said he eventually got a free COVID-19 test provided by the city of...…This story is part of a partnership that includes ,  and Kaiser Health News.Steve Alvarez started feeling sick around Father’s Day weekend this year. His symptoms started as mild, but developed into a fever, chills and shortness of breath he couldn’t shake.“Just when I started to get to feeling better and I would have a couple of good days,” Alvarez said. “I felt like I’d backtrack and I was just really run down. This thing lingered and lingered.”Alvarez, a Tejano musician who lives in the San Antonio area, said he eventually got a free COVID-19 test provided by the city of...WW…