Many Texans learned a new word this year: quorum. And, no, it’s not the collective noun for a group of opossums. A quorum is the minimum number of assembly members that must be present in order to conduct business. For the Texas House of Representatives, that minimum is two-thirds of its members. Earlier this summer, […]
Texas Politics Project
Election Polling Needs More Transparency, Better Reporting of Results
Although it may be weeks until we have verified vote counts for the U.S. presidential election, the error in the polls is undeniable, with state-level polling consistently underestimating support for President Donald Trump. As in 2016, the polling profession is scrambling to understand what went wrong, but clearly, something needs to change. The most likely […]
The Word on Texas
Project gets Texans in the game with free online textbooks, political polling and more It launched with a modest mission: Providing students at The University of Texas at Austin a free online textbook for a state-required government class. It didn’t take long for the Texas Politics project to make its mark far beyond the university. […]
From Batts Hall to the Pink Dome
The Texas Politics Project and Government Department Internship Program The picture postcard view of the Texas Capitol dome from the top of the South Mall is only a few steps from the front doors of Batts Hall, the Government Department’s home since 2002. Having the seat of state government down the street provides students and […]
Texas Politics Project
By the numbers In the run-up to the March gubernatorial primary, the Texas Politics Project at The University of Texas at Austin released a poll that not only predicted decisive victories by Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White, but also examined the voter sentiments that shaped those outcomes. Sponsored jointly by The Texas Tribune, […]