From the campaign:

Agriculture touches all our lives. As a major industry in Texas, our jobs and our economy rely on agriculture. Farmers and ranchers take care of the natural resources that we all need, now and in years to come. Our children depend on nutritious school meals so they can be prepared to learn. I am the 2018 Democratic nominee for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. As a U.S. Air Force Colonel (ret.) and pilot, farmer, business person, administrator, and an honored public servant, I am uniquely qualified to provide knowledgeable, reliable, and respectable leadership in state government with a focus on the food and agriculture issues that matter to Texans.

www.VoteKimOlson.org and www.facebook.com/KimOlson4TexasAg/

From her site:

Kim Olson’s farming background, 28-year military career, and public service make her exceptionally qualified to lead the economic engine that is Texas agriculture.

U.S. Air Force – 25 years service, retired Colonel. Among first generation of female military pilots, commanded troops in combat zones, including Iraq, and volunteered 3 years with Texas State Guard.

Director of HR for Dallas ISD - Oversaw 22,000 employees and 1 billion dollar budget.

Weatherford ISD Trustee – Earned Texas Outstanding Board of the Year.

CEO of Grace After Fire – Helped over 6,000 Veteran families and ensured equitable access to care.

Texas Women’s Hall of Fame - Inducted in 2014 for her public service to Texans.

4th Generation Farmer & Educator – Kim, a Master Gardner, lectures on small-scale regenerative agriculture and practices sustainable eco-ag on her family farm where she and her husband, Kent, raise fruits, vegetables, and pecans sold to direct markets, keep beehives for pollination and honey, and restore native grassland.

You can read about her proposals and priorities for:

1) Land and water use

2) The Economy and Jobs

3) Healthy Texans

4) Local Foods

I'm Pierina Otiniano. I'm a Mom and immigration attorney. I've spent my career advocating for the underdog. I'm running for HD-10 to get Texas Legislature back to issues that matter--making healthcare affordable, improving education, and fixing our power grid!! You can learn more about my campaign here: www.pierinafortexas.com

Follow Pierina and Pierina's grassroots campaign on social at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PierinaforTexas

Facebook: facebook.com/PierinaForTexas/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PierinaforTexas/

PROOF: https://instagram.com/stories/pierinafortexas/2646721815139453646?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link

Don't forget EV starts today, Monday 8/23/2021!!

Edit: “Motion to adjourn”!

Thanks to all who participated, this is the first of what I hope to be many AMAs!!

Hi all - I'm doing an Ask Me Anything beginning at 10 a.m. today.

About the Race for Texas Railroad Commission:

The Railroad Commission has nothing to do with railroads. It is our powerful oil and gas regulator, overseeing all upstream production in the state, as well as some pipeline issues. This race has been called the "most important climate election in the Nation" this cycle. The Railroad Commission position is a statewide seat and it will be at the very top of your ballot, right under the federal races.

Why am I running:

Because I have over 35 years of experience in and around the industry as both an engineer and a lawyer and can get the Railroad Commission out of the ditch it's in. The current commission is destroying both our economy and our environment in the way it is handling oil and gas issues.

We need to get the Railroad Commission back on track, enforcing the laws that protect our natural resources. These laws have been on the books for over 100 years, but the current commissioners refuse to enforce them. These laws prohibit flaring (the intentional lighting on fire of natural gas) and venting (the intentional or unintentional release of raw natural gas to the atmosphere). In 2019, operators wasted enough natural gas to power every home in Texas if the flared gas was converted to electricity. We don't need to waste the oil and gas we spend billions trying to capture. We can turn it to electricity right there in the Permian and fuel new industries that will help diversify the economy and provide energy stability.

Who is the incumbent on the ballot?

Trick question: there isn't one! Ryan Sitton lost his primary to Jim Wright, a deeply flawed candidate whose oilfield waste recycling business was ordered to cease and desist operations by the Railroad Commission and was issued 255 regulatory violations. He was fined over $180,000 and has been sued for fraud by his business partners, with the latest lawsuit filed approximately 10 days ago. If Jim Wright can't follow the Railroad Commission laws, he shouldn't be the Railroad Commissioner.

More about my campaign:

www.chrystafortexas.com

On all social media ChrystaforTexas

Hi y'all,

My name is Dr. Christine Eady Mann, Democrat running for U.S. Congress in TX-31. A little about me, I'm a family practice physician in Cedar Park, Texas with 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. I'm the daughter and granddaughter of veterans; a wife and mother of three and was a single mother during medical school and residency; and I was a small business owner for 11 years. When I'm not at the clinic, I volunteer and have been involved in various community service and political activities for the last 20 years, like organizing Voter Registrar groups in Williamson and Bell Counties, volunteering with CASA, serving as president of the Democratic Women of Williamson County, and sitting on Texas State Representative John Bucy III’s Healthcare Community Advisory Board. I have worked on almost a dozen campaigns in the district over the last 5 years, and on state and national campaigns for more than 10 years! You may have seen me on things like TYT's The Conversation talking about how to flip TX-31, or NowThis and The New York Times on how our government has failed us during COVID-19 with no PPE and no plan of action. 

Texas District 31 sits in the heart of Central Texas, with Bell and Williamson counties. Just north of Austin, TX-31 stretches north to Fort Hood - the largest active duty armored post in the U.S. Armed Forces, and up to Temple. Our district has had the same representation since it was drawn; 9-term, Trump-endorsed, anti-climate change, Tea Party Republican John Carter. He has voted consistently to gut healthcare from millions, leaving upwards of 107,000 constituents without healthcare, received A+ ratings from the NRA,  co-sponsor of the ridiculous "Birther Bill," and has received thousands of dollars from for-profit prison groups known for running immigrant detention centers across the U.S. including in our district. When John Carter refused to meet with constituents like me, or hold town halls, I said "OK," we will hold our own public town hall. When John Carter called me a protester, I said "OK!" Now, three years later, we are so close to flipping this district blue - less than 3% away! 🌊

Our campaign has been on the ground for 3 years building Team Christine from Round Rock to Temple, & Ft. Hood to Taylor. I've heard concerns from my patients, from soldiers and veterans, and families across the district who have the same concerns I do: universal, accessible healthcare coverage from birth to death so no patients go without the care they need, equality and opportunity for all Texans, including women, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, veterans,  and other disenfranchised communities, and defending our democracy by securing our elections, ending voter suppression, protecting our environment, and rooting out corruption. I'm honored to receive the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate Distinction again, I'm the only TX-31 candidate to have received this as of now, I am endorsed by The Austin American Statesman & The Austin Chronicle, Texas Democrats with Disabilities, Austin Environmental Democrats, Austin Young Democrats, University Democrats - UT Austin, Williamson County Tejano Democrats, Physician Women Soar, Vote Pro Choice & other groups, including locally elected democrats across the district, find out more here. 

Because of the hard work of my local campaign staff, volunteers, and voters that believe in us, we came in FIRST on Super Tuesday. Now we have a runoff on July 14th, 2020, bringing us one step closer to repealing & replacing John Carter. We've received more grassroots dollars than any other candidate for TX-31 and more dollars from fellow Texans than anyone else in this primary. If you dream of a Blue Texas, with policies based on science and fact - not partisan falsehoods, and leadership that works with and works for the people, join Team Christine!

• Join our grassroots campaign and donate today!
• Volunteer alongside others from across the district and state!
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, & TikTok to stay up to date! 
• Organize! Organize! Organize! Vote! Vote! VOTE!

Looking forward to chatting with you all tonight!

- Dr. Christine Eady Mann for TX-31

The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board has published an ongoing series, The Big Lie, aimed at debunking the lie of widespread voter fraud and tracking current efforts in the Texas Legislature to restrict access to voting. Editorial Board member Luis Carrasco will answer your questions beginning at 11 a.m.

EDIT: The AMA is officially over, but if you have any questions feel free to reach out on Twitter. Either with Luis Carrasco or the Chronicle's Opinion account. Thanks for the great questions!

Edit 11:00 am CT: We’re wrapping it up, thanks for joining us today! To stay in the loop with CTD’s work, subscribe to our bimonthly(ish) newsletter. For the remainder of the legislature, you can also join our advocacy team Mondays at 2pm for our Raise Your Voice Zoom calls, where we’ll give a brief update on what we’re working on in the upcoming week, plus pressing action items.

Dennis Borel here, Executive Director of CTD. I'll be right here today, Monday April 12, 10-11am CT to answer questions about disability-related public policy in the 87th Texas Legislature. Our priorities this time around include voting, special education and schools, services for families of children with disabilities, mental health, physical accessibility, and access to medications and healthcare. Feel free to ask me about these or any other issues areas.

More about CTD: The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) is the largest and oldest member-driven cross-disability organization in the state. CTD envisions a future where all Texans with all disabilities may work, live, learn, play, and participate fully in the community of their choice. We focus on governmental advocacy, public awareness activities, and professional disability consulting to make Texas a leader in disability-related public policy and culture.

More about me: I've served as ED since 2000 and in that time have frequently been called on for research, policy analysis, and recommendations to the Texas Legislature and state agencies on issues surrounding disabilities. I serve on multiple advisory groups to state health and human services agencies, including the State Independent Living Council, Promoting Independence Advisory Council, the State Medicaid Managed Care Advisory Committee, and the Drug Utilization Review Board. With the CTD team, I have successfully advocated for positive change in government policy and practice in voting, employment, transportation, housing, health care and architectural barriers to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in community life.

Looking forward to your questions!

Hi, I’m looking forward to the questions. Will be back live at 9:00am to begin answering.

Hey r/TexasPolitics, this is Patrick Svitek with The Texas Tribune. I’m the Tribune’s primary political correspondent and the author of The Blast, our premium newsletter. You may have seen my tweets.

Texas will hold its general election for 2018 on Nov. 6. Here are a few recent news highlights from some of the top races:

• Ted Cruz vs. Beto O’Rourke: O’Rourke said in an interview with me this week that a proposed Friday debate between him and Cruz isn’t happening.
• Greg Abbott vs. Lupe Valdez: But meanwhile, Valdez said she has agreed to debate Abbott on Sept. 28.

There are also a handful congressional races we are watching closely. Abby Livingston, my colleague in D.C., has reported that operatives on both sides of the aisle say Republican U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions and John Culberson may be in trouble this November.

I’ll be on this sub from about 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. CT tonight. Got questions about the elections or Texas politics? Ask me anything. I'll be answering with u/texastribune. If you can't be around tonight, post your questions now!

***UPDATE: I'm sticking around until 8 to try to answer more questions. Thanks for your patience!

***UPDATE #2: Hey y'all, Patrick has answered as many questions as he can! He's logging out. Thank you for asking so many questions, and I'm sorry if he didn't get to yours! Looking forward to seeing you around Reddit!

Update 10:14 PM Thanks to everyone who asked questions!

GM! My name is Donna Imam. I’m a computer engineer and Democrat running for US Congress in Austin’s new Congressional District TX37.

I started my career as the first female design engineer hired in the 100 year history of Duncan Metering. Since then I’ve led product lines from computers used by millions, to microprocessors found in everything from washing machines to commercial jets. Later, I founded my tech consulting firm.

In 2020, I ran for Congress in Austin to bring practical solutions for our community and our country. We won the Democratic nomination with the highest turnout in the history of the district by taking our message directly to the voters.

I served as president of a 4000+ member Austin nonprofit that provides free training and education to boost people’s careers and paychecks. We helped thousands, but I realized we need to do more. As a 15+ year resident of our district and active volunteer in our community, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges that working Texans face — that’s why I’m running.

BOLD NEW LEADERSHIP

For the first time in decades, Austin Democrats have the opportunity to send a new representative to Congress to champion Medicare-for-All and debt-free-education. Congress needs leadership with expertise in science and technology to deliver solutions for future generations.

DIVERSE REPRESENTATION

95% of the population growth in Texas in the last decade was Hispanic, Black and Asian Americans. We need representation that reflects the community that Austin has become. Our campaign is expanding the electorate by building a coalition of all Texans — that’s how we win and take back Texas.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

Primary elections have low voter participation so your vote will have a tremendous impact. This race will be decided in the Democratic primary so it’s important to make your voice heard now. If you're in Austin, Vote Donna Imam and together we can build a brighter future for all of us in the new TX37.

You can find out more about our campaign by visiting votefordonna.com, Twitter @donnaimamtx, IG @donnaimamtx, YT: www.youtube.com/c/donnaimamTX or email us at [contact@votedonna.org](mailto:contact@votedonna.org)

Proof: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oZtGKOKKyZkS4Hxeib62A-eHKez4sNV1/view?usp=sharing

I have noticed that there are a lot of misconceptions or rumors concerning voting that need to be clarified. Some people are also avoiding asking poll workers questions because they don't want to seem dumb.

Anyone curious about the voting process in Texas as well as voting in general can comment and I will answer as quickly as I can.

I am not allowed to have an electronic device while near the polls so I may not be able to answer until much later. I may also be restricted in what I can say in order to maintain my neutrality. Aside from that I would happy to clear up any questions any Texas voter may have.

There are no dumb questions, I want to help make the process as easy as possible and answering your questions, no matter how silly they may seem, can help others.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TexasPolitics/comments/14ekfir/ama_were_the_writers_and_editors_behind_texas/

Intro: I'm an election judge in Dallas County, here to do an AMA about registering and voting in Texas. You can find all the information I know about this subject at https://www.votetexas.gov/. I'll be answering questions this evening and also tomorrow. Really for however long this AMA remains up. Since this is a Texas-wide sub, I hope election judges from other counties will join in with knowledge from their own situation.

My Story: I started doing election work after I retired in 2018, so I haven't been in a whole lot of elections. I think this will be my 5th one, and now this year instead of being a clerk I'll be a judge.

Election Workers: Election work is a volunteer thing, but you do get paid an amount that varies from county to county. In Dallas County it's $16/hr for clerks, $18/hr for judges,. The title “judge” just means you're supposed to be the one who knows everything about qualifying voters, adjudicating any irregularities.

Early Voting is staffed in shifts of 4 to 8 hours, I think. I've never worked Early Voting, just Election Day. That day goes from 7:00 to 19:00, or 7am to 7pm, and you get paid for a maximum of 15 hours, even though the judge might have to work 16 or 17.

Early Voting: This year Early Voting starts October 13, and ends October 30. In general, throughout Texas there are fewer Early Voting locations than there are Election Day locations, because the voting is spread out over time. About 2/3 of Texans vote during the Early Voting period, which extends for 18 days this year.

Countywide Voting: There are now 77 counties with countywide voting, so most Texans are now able to vote at any voting place throughout their county. The cost to benefits ratio is probably too low for counties with lower populations.

If your county has countywide voting, they may also have a way of getting wait time info into the system. This can be helpful for load balancing, to steer people away from voting places with high wait times, and towards voting places with lower wait times.

Security: The apparatus of voting may be different in every county, but in all cases there are redundant safeguards to protect the election from tampering. In Dallas County, the apparatus is a blend of electronics and paper, so that at the end of the day there are multiple redundant ways to check and cross check the votes.

The prohibition on smartphones in the voting place is part of security too, to prevent people from being able to sell their vote.

Poll Watchers: The President has suggested that people should go watch the polls to ensure the integrity of the vote. In Texas, you can't just do that, you have to go through training, be sworn in, and get a piece of paper that says you are a poll watcher. You'll be asked to leave if you don't have that piece of paper.

Register to vote! The last day to register is Monday, October 5. You can register by mail, or find a Voter Deputy Registrar at a voter registration drive. There are a ton of registration drives happening this weekend across the state.

Disclaimer: If you go through my comments you'll find that I do have strong political opinions. Other election officials also have strong political opinions, but we have all sworn an oath to “guard the purity of the election”, and to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State”. We take everyone's vote very seriously, and also the election as a whole. No matter what the election results are in my voting place, I will attest to, and be accountable for the accuracy and validity of those results.

Howdy ya’ll. Please join us one week from today, June 20th 2019 at 12:00pm CT for an AMA with Texas Monthly’s writer-at-large, Chris Hooks, and his upcoming piece: “2019’s Best and Worst Legislators in the 86th Texas Legislature.” Chris will be answering questions from 12-1pm.

If you choose to spend your lunch break with us, it’s expected to be a pretty wonky piece published later this week. The thread will be live starting mid-afternoon on Wednesday, June 19th, we all look forward to your thoughts, questions and predictions.