Opinion

AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Public Safety on March 18 announced the creation of the Texas Crimes Against Children Center within the agency’s Texas Rangers Division. The stated goal is to protect children through the collection and dissemination of vital intelligence, investigative support and cooperation with victim-assistance counselors by “providing support to local, state…

In the South Texas Voter Fraud editorial series, I did not tell the story of what happened to the evidence we had collected for a reason: the current 2014 primary election. It was important that readers not confuse the intent to inform the public and motivate action vs. trying to sway any outcome in the…

AUSTIN — Looking back at the March 4 primaries, Texas boasted 13,601,324 voters registered in time to cast a ballot. An estimated 9 percent of the overall number of registered voters (about 1.3 million) voted in the Republican primary and 4 percent (500,000) voted in the Democratic primary.  Runoffs between the top two vote-getting candidates…

During the past weeks, I’ve talked about an election that occurred in 2000, but the election problems and voter fraud have spanned decades. The hope is that this series has begun to get people talking, analyzing and re-evaluating their own attitudes and perceptions about this issue and voting generally—to be more self-aware about personal voting…

My mother, June Brann, and I had a lot of political discussions over the years on a variety of subjects. On one occasion—and more years back than I want to admit—we were discussing the public’s integrity and the tide of elections generally. She said, “People will always vote their pocketbooks.” I replied, “The people will…

Up to now, this series has only skimmed the surface of the cogs turning the wheel of voter fraud in South Texas. The convoluted layers require multiple elements to survive and for the machine to move forward. The root begins with the official procedures for the conduct of elections in Texas governed by the Texas…

The scene has been set. Two independent groups were analyzing the paper trail of the March, 2000, Hidalgo County primary elections. Each for very different reasons: a group of citizens concerned over voting irregularities and Tony Peña, who lost the sheriff’s race by 47 votes, and his supporters. The two teams came up with some…

AUSTIN — Texas’ 160-year-old Permanent School Fund had grown to $29 billion, a record high value, in December 2013, the Texas Education Agency reported Feb. 6. The fund was created by the state in 1854 with a $2 million investment. Last year was a good one. In fiscal year 2013, which ended Aug. 31, the…

There’s a story to tell—actually numerous, individual stories—but their summation is centered on one thing: the longtime, illegal voting practices and abuses in South Texas. This chapter in the story begins with why I chose to get involved in South Texas voting problems. It was the year 2000. Some will recall it as the year…

Regarding an editorial*, “Commentary: Encouraging RGV voters through civic engagement,” which ran Jan. 27 with The Monitor: The author, a Michael Seifert from Brownsville, writes, “As the 2014 primary election season begins to heat up, members of the Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network are preparing to knock on doors throughout the region, including South…