By Will Weissert and Paul J. Weber
Texans have already cast more ballots in the presidential election than they did during all of 2016, an unprecedented surge of early voting in a state that was once the country's most reliably Republican, but may now be drifting toward battleground status.
More than 9 million ballots have been cast as of Friday morning in the nation's second most-populous state, exceeding the 8,969,226 cast in 2016, according to an Associated Press tally of early votes from data provided by Texas officials.
Texas is the first state to hit the milestone. This year's numbers were aided by Democratic activists challenging in court for, and winning, the right to extend early voting by one week amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas also offers only limited vote-by-mail options when compared to the rest of the country, meaning casting in-person, early ballots is the primary way to vote for people who don't want to line up and do so on Election Day.
Voters in Texas do not register by party affiliation, meaning no one can be sure until the ballots are counted whether one party or the other will benefit from the surge in turnout.
The Florida Board of Education has approved a ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades.
The Supreme Court is deciding whether women will face restrictions in getting a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S. while a lawsuit continues.
New supervisors leading Disney World’s revamped governing body say they had good intentions about collaborating with the company after they were appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that contains more than 50 directives to increase access to child care and improve the work life of caregivers.
Supreme Court justices seemed in broad agreement that businesses can’t cite minor costs or hardships to reject requests from workers who need schedule or other accommodations because of their religious practices.
Fox and Dominion Voting Systems have reached a $787 million settlement in the voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged Monday to pass legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling — but only on condition of capping future federal spending increases at 1% — as he lashed out at President Joe Biden for refusing to engage in budget-cutting negotiations to prevent a debt crisis.
U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican whose lies about his background and wealth helped propel him into office, announced Monday that he's running for reelection.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Walt Disney World.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday urged Americans to take action during “a critical point in our nation’s history” as thousands of protesters demonstrated across the country against new limits to abortion rights making their way through the courts.
