Natalia Contreras

Natalia Contreras

Reporter, Votebeat Texas

Natalia Contreras has covered a range of topics as a community journalist including local government, public safety, immigration, and social issues. Natalia comes to Votebeat from the Austin American-Statesman, where her reporting focused on impacts of government policies on communities of color. Natalia previously reported for the Indianapolis Star, where she helped launch the first Spanish-language newsletter, and at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Natalia was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Secretary of State Jane Nelson says such a change should be up to the Legislature, not the courts.

The voters were flagged after being checked against a federal database. Some officials question its reliability.

The proposed constitutional amendment would affirm that voters must be citizens, a requirement that’s already in state law.

With early voting just days away, counties say they’re running out of time to get their complaints addressed.

The move would be costly and could upend voting for Democrats, too, by forcing a shift away from countywide polling sites.

Election officials say problems with TEAM are preventing them from completing essential tasks. The state says the real issue may be training, and it’s offering help.

A bill passed in the special session restores limits on voters who make last-minute address changes.

Three counties are getting rid of ballot-marking machines and having voters fill in their choices by hand.

The 18th Congressional District, a hub of Black political power, faces the prospect of new dividing lines.

The state is holding off on fulfilling the DOJ request for now, while it switches to a new voter registration management system. The letter raises legal and privacy concerns.