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.

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.

The former Tarrant County official won praise for pushing back on misinformation.

New maps would mean months of work for election officials, and key deadlines are approaching.

Days after a dire warning, Votec’s chairman says its doors are ‘open again.’ But county election administrators are wary.

The program does not share case information with other agencies, a U.S. CIS official says: ‘We don’t refer a noncitizen to ICE.’

What is the U.S. doing with uploaded records? And how is the state handling search results? Lawmakers and watchdogs push the Department of Homeland Security for more transparency.

Attorney General Ken Paxton says the cases involve more than 100 voters, mostly in Harris County.