Good Afternoon, Class! Welcome back to Civics 101: Intro to Voting Way Better.
Welcome to Week 2!
We are your professors: Precinct Chair Joey Cade and News Junkie Jalon D’na.
Today we have a special guest speaker, Judge Maggie Ellis who is running for Texas Chief Justice. Aren’t you lucky!
In today’s lecture we are talking about Texas’ High Courts and why you should care.
TL;DR You should care because they make big decisions for you.
So have a seat, open your books to Chapter 2, and let’s get you ready to be a way better voter — and your friends and families too.
Here is your CV101 Lesson for August 4th 2026:
Supplementary Reading
Wait, we have our own Supreme Court?
What Are State Supreme Courts?
Who is On our Texas Supreme Court and our Court of Appeals and what do they do?
“About the elected seat: The Texas Supreme Court is the state’s highest civil court, the final arbiter of major issues of state law. Justices are elected to six-year terms in partisan elections, but if they step down before their term expires — as is often the case — the governor appoints their successor. Gov. Greg Abbott, a former member of the court, has appointed seven of the nine current justices. All of the current justices are Republicans; there has not been a Democrat elected to the bench since the 1990s.
What’s at stake: The Texas Supreme Court interprets the state Constitution to decide issues of major importance, like whether state laws can remain in effect or if elected leaders are overstepping their roles. It decides which cases to review, and its rulings are final, giving the nine justices huge influence over the laws of Texas. In recent years, the Supreme Court has upheld Texas’ bans on abortion and gender-affirming care for minors; weighed in on pandemic protocols for elections and evictions; and delayed the execution of Robert Roberson, a death row inmate accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter. Several very important cases are before the court right now, including the question of whether Democrats who left the state to protest redistricting can be removed from office. Four of the nine spots on the court are on the ballot this year, including the chief justice position. All Republican incumbents face no primary challengers. In the Democratic primary, there are only multiple candidates in the Place 1 and Place 7 elections.”
There has not been a Democrat elected to any statewide office in 30 years in Texas.
- Judge Maggie Ellis for Chief Justices
This is our current Texas Supreme Court
This is our current Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
I saw this on Blue Sky yesterday 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
Supplementary Viewing
Why Do Supreme Court Justices Matter?
They make grand decisions for us…..
Following ban, Texas hemp reps sue state for violating commerce protections
Texas Supreme Court rejects attempt to block beach closures for SpaceX launches
PFLAG must turn over records in Texas probe tied to transgender youth care ban, court rules
Long story short, ALL of our judges matter…and are all electable.
Look what they are trying to do in the Fort Worth area.
Homework
Research who is on the ballot for our two high courts!
Texas Supreme Court elections, 2026
We here at GPL are very much in the Democratic Tent, so all of our recommendations are all the Dems on the ballot…especially our new friend of the Pod, Judge Maggie Ellis.
But more than that, this is the first time in a long time we actually get to vote for our Texas Supreme Court Justices.
These folks are too powerful. So please take this seriously.
And please, someone federally legalize weed. This is stupid.
Reminder: we won’t be handed better….we have to fight for better.
That is your CV101 Lesson for today!
We will be grading on a curve, don’t worry.
No quiz this week!
Get Pod Local: Where we start Locally while thinking Globally
xx Jalon + Joey
👉🏽 This daily podcast is free, but if you’d like, please buy Jalon some coffee. She can’t do these newsletters and podcasts without it! (Seriously).
Election 2026
Donate to the TEXAS Democratic Party. The DNC will not send us enough money to really get to work.👇🏽
Reminder for everyone: Please check your voter’s registration every month until the election this November. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
Democratic Party Lesson Plan
Honestly, it will be the same until the election….
LISTEN TO YOUR BASE.
That’s it for this week! Like, share, and subscribe if you haven’t yet. We are quite literally all in this together. xo, Jalon + Joey.
This Civics Lesson is a weekly Newsletter from Get Pod Local. We talk Politics, roundup the news, get you ready to be the best and most informed voter, and give you CTAs every week…for Free. (awww)
Your Moment of Zen
Honestly, same.
The Latest GPL Podcast Episode Is Up!
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Recent Other GPL Newsletters (in case you missed them)
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Welcome to Organizer’s Corner — a (free) newsletter from your friends at Get Pod Local! Because we can help you stay inform — but then what?
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We’re Also On Youtube!
We also post these on our Youtube Channel! Not with my face, but still, it’s cute!
Other GPL Goodies
Get Pod Local: The Podcast (Season 2!) with Joey and Jalon
Joey and Jalon sit down with Politicians, Community Leaders, and movers and shakers making a difference. And almost every episode, the Dallas Mayor catches a stray. He deserves it. It’s fine. New episodes every Thursday!
GPL Presents: New Newsletter with Jalon Nichols
Every week, Jalon catches you up on what is going on out here, who is doing it, how does that impact your everyday life, and what everyone is saying about. We are based in Texas, so we have a lot of Texas news, but we cover the whole wide world. There is a LOT of stuff going on everyday, and no one can keep up with it all, but we attempt to….for you. (Clap for us).
GPL Presents: Organizers Corner w/ Joey Cade
Every Sunday night, Joey Cade, our Resident Precinct Chair, lays out our Call To Actions for the week. Because knowing what’s going on is one thing. But doing something about it is another. Let’s do both!
GPL Presents: Water Cooler with Jalon and Joey
Every morning, Jalon D’na and Joey Cade check in and talk about something we read or saw on slack. Videos drop on some Thursdays!
GPL Presents: Daily Briefs with Jalon Nichols
Everyday, Jalon reads you the headlines of the day — just to keep you in the know. Think NPR at the top of each hour, with a lot of shade some jokes.
