News Ticker: November 5

Jim Wright votes, Joaquin Castro gets hitched, and John Cornyn raises some eyebrows. Milestones are on the News Ticker.

• Yahoo! Today is election day. Up for vote is Mark Strama's old House seat, affordable housing in Austin, and state water infrastructure. Texans will not be voting on Beyoncé, but we all think she's just terrific.

• The hottest trend this year has been voter disenfranchisement, with legendary House Speaker Jim Wright being the latest A-list name to have trouble with the new voter ID requirements. Unfortunately, that means political also-rans are going to great lengths to be added to the list. Tom Pauken has even been seen trying to impersonate a viable gubernatorial candidate.

• According to October polling from the University of Texas/ Texas Tribune, Sen. Ted Cruz remains extraordinarily popular with Tea Party Texans. Lawn chairs also remain inordinately popular. We guess that's why they keep flying those "Don't Tread on Me" flags. Tea Party stampedes can get real ugly.

• Sen. John Cornyn is decidedly less popular with teabagging Texans, which is probably the reason he looks so relaxed in his Twitter photo.

• If you turn off the sound on Jerry Patterson's new Lite Guv campaign video, it perfectly syncs up with Brad Paisley's "Accidental Racist."

• Rep. Joaquin Castro has married his long-time girlfriend Anna Flores. Now the only way to tell him apart from twin brother Julián will be his prominent horns. Honestly, we're not sure why people seem to have such trouble.

• The Texas Supreme Court today began hearing arguments in a case asking if the state granting same-sex divorces violates the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

• Austinite Joseph Kopser is among the honorees in today's White House Champions of Change ceremony.

• The US Grand Prix keeps getting more glamorous. The Motostalgia Auction d’Elegance, held during the event, will be bringing in such celebrities as Val Kilmer, a person who designed some stuff for Michael Jackson, and the man who uttered the eternally quotable line "What are feeling, Lance... 40 weight? 50 weight?" in 2001's The Fast and the Furious. It's all so unspeakably glamorous, the entire town will be practically dripping in Drakkar Noir.

• Volunteers and donations are still needed to help in the flooding recovery efforts.