@jessicahuseman
Editorial director at Votebeat, managing special projects and newsroom enthusiasm. Finding joy everywhere. Prev: ProPublica. You need a corn dog, I can tell. Texan. jhuseman at votebeat dot org. Thank god for good people. Thank people for being kind.
Bernard LaFayette, the advance man who did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died.
If you ever have to spend nearly 24 straight hours reporting on voting without sleeping, I recommend capping it with a steak, wine, and a james McMurtry album while you stare at a river.
Sometimes I totally forget that going on local news is really cool and in the last day I’ve had to shoot hits in my Airbnb and a random coworking space I found off the highway. The absolute jazzed-ness of my hosts - who now have news clips featuring their walls - was the funnest part of this midterm
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For those following what's going on in Texas: @jessicahuseman.bsky.social was in Gillespie County last night where Republicans once again hand-counted ballots
www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/0...
To follow our ongoing reporting on voting and elections in Texas, be sure to sign up for our free Texas newsletter, hosted by @nataliaecm.bsky.social:
www.votebeat.org/texas/subscr...
And Editorial Director @jessicahuseman.bsky.social went to Gillespie County to observe Republicans hand counting their ballots. Despite fewer ballots to count than in 2024, they still took nearly as long — sending their report to the Secretary of State after 5 a.m.
www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/0...
Texas reporter @nataliaecm.bsky.social went to Eastland County, Texas to watch Republicans hand count their primary ballots. The counting was still ongoing on Wednesday morning, more than 12 hours after polls closed.
www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/0...
Texas had its primary election yesterday, March 3. Here's what happened in Dallas and in two other counties where Republicans decided to hand-count their ballots. 🧵
I'm about to walk into a fantastic looking german diner where i assume they have pancakes
I stayed up all night (and I’m still awake) in Gillespie County as workers counted paper ballots by hand in 13 precincts — and county officials worked to turn those tallies into official results. Here’s how it went: www.votebeat.org/texas/2026/0...
Saw that fox tho.
my feet smell awful. truly hideous.
I got to my Airbnb at 6:10, just in time for 6:15 live TV hit, and now I'm gonna eat pancakes until I calm down and then sleep until as long as it takes for the Airbnb to evict me
happy midterm election day 2026
someone just left (it's 5:18 a.m.) and said "have a good evening!" because THAT IS USUALLY WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU LEAVE WORK.
No law requires auditing of hand-counted elections in TX (there is one for electronically tabulated). So, how did it go? We may actually never know. Yay!
well that ended a couple of hours ago but the work continues for the county, which has to do significantly more work to submit the same number of results to the state for Republicans than they do Democrats (who are not hand counting)
I live in this room now.
I'm gonna be asked to explain what has happened here today and I think all I may be able to explain is that I saw a fox I have no real proof of seeing
about 40 races, depending on where you live in the county and your precinct. It's a lot of work.
Folks it is 4:30 am. I am still here.
I’m still at the county elections office in Gillespie county Texas, where the republicans are hand counting ballots cast on election day. Waiting on the last of 13 precinct. I saw a fox, but I don’t think you can really tell. This is glamorous work.
Confused voters at the wrong voting locations in Dallas and Eastland. Delayed primary results in Williamson. Conflicting court orders.
@jessicahuseman.bsky.social @nataliaecm.bsky.social and Dallas Free Press have you covered tonight, with more to come from @votebeat.org
of course you are a historian! I should have known to ask a historian.
oooh!
I'm looking for an archive of national TV news programs that would have aired in the early 2000s. That's a tall order, I know. Does anyone know any good resources?
really strugging to tell the difference between this and an oscar acceptance speech that never ends.
Who's going to run elections in small-town WI? In many places, it's a question w/o a clear answer.
Take it from the Town of Wausau, which has had 4 clerks in just over a year. It's a problem w/o a neat solution, but clerks still sure decentralized elections are best
www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...
New piece from Alex Shur/@votebeat.org on what happens when small towns can’t find anyone to run their elections. In parts of Wisconsin, longtime clerks are stepping down — and officials are struggling to find replacements. Essential (and very well-written) read:
www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/20...