Ashley Lopez
Ashley Lopez joined KUT in January 2016. She covers politics and health care, and is part of the NPR-Kaiser Health News reporting collaborative. Previously she worked as a reporter at public radio stations in Louisville, Ky.; Miami and Fort Myers, Fla., where she won a National Edward R. Murrow Award.
Ashley was also part of NPR’s Political Reporting Partnership during the 2016 presidential election. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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More than 12% of mail ballots were rejected for the primary. That's a far higher rejection rate than in previous contests. -
Perhaps most notably, Harris County rejected a whopping 19% percent of the mail ballots it received, or 6,888 ballots in total. Four years ago the county's rejection rate was about 0.3%. -
In Harris County — home to Houston — election officials so far have sent back to voters nearly 38% of mail-in ballots, citing issues with new state ID requirements. -
Ahead of the March primary, local elections officials in Texas are starting to deal with the effects of a new GOP-backed voting law. -
Texas has lifted its mask mandate and is opening up restaurants and other venues to full capacity. Frontline workers in the state do not have priority access to vaccines and many say they're nervous.
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Patients and families at a children's hospital are being asked to not take showers, KUT reports. They were also told the toilets can't flush, and staff are changing linens only as needed.
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An NPR analysis of COVID-19 vaccination sites in major cities across the Southern U.S. reveals a racial disparity, with most sites located in whiter neighborhoods. -
Several officials in Austin pushed back on Texas' initial COVID-19 vaccination plan, which would've put just nine of the city's 65 vaccination sites on the lower-income and more diverse east side.
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In 2021, states will redraw voting district lines to redistribute political power. In many places, the fight over where lines fall is expected to be bitter and partisan.
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Millions of dollars are flowing into state legislative races. Redistricting and the coronavirus are expected to be top of the policy agenda in 2021 and party control could mean everything.
