Texas ranks 46th in the nation for voting access, according to the nonpartisan 2022 Cost of Voting Index published recently in the Election Law Journal.

Why it matters: It's harder for everyone to cast ballots here, and, politically speaking, constituencies that generally favor Democrats have a harder time getting to the polls.

Details: Ease of registration to vote and the availability of early voting, both in person and by mail, were the most heavily weighted in the study, Scot Schraufnagel, a political scientist at Northern Illinois University and an author of the study, told the New York Times.

The trajectory: Texas dropped one spot from the 2020 voting index.

Flashback: Since the 2020 election, Texas banned practices that made it easier to vote during the pandemic, including drive-thru and 24-hour voting.

• "However, as best as we can tell, there was no intention to make the 2020 provisions permanent, so banning them is curious," observe the authors. "Importantly, the changes will limit the state's ability to respond to another health crisis. Moreover, voting still is not easy in Texas. The state, previously ranked 45th, did not have a lot of room to fall."
• What puts Texas ahead of states ranked 47-50? Thirteen days of early voting, per the index authors.

Of note: The 2022 Cost of Voting Index does not capture all the new election law changes since 2020 — including Texas' Senate Bill 1, which empowers poll watchers and gives them "free movement" around polling stations.

• "We will wait to learn more the effect election interference laws have on the cost of voting after these have been in place for at least one election cycle," the authors write.

The 30-year-old man accused of killing two Methodist Dallas hospital employees over the weekend was arrested twice on parole violation charges since his release from a state prison last October.

Why it matters: Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia criticized the criminal justice system that allowed "an individual such as this with his violent past and violent criminal history" to be free on an ankle monitor — though Garcia didn't suggest any specific solutions.

Catch up fast: Nestor Oswaldo Hernandez, who is on parole for an aggravated robbery, was wearing an ankle monitor when he visited a woman in the labor and delivery ward Saturday morning at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

• Police said Hernandez used the gun to hit the woman several times in the head before killing one hospital employee in the room and another in the hallway.
• Hernandez was shot in the leg by a hospital police officer and later arrested after a standoff.

The latest: The Dallas Police Department has taken over the case and will investigate the officer who shot Hernandez, a routine procedure in police officer shootings.

• Hernandez received permission from the state's parole board to visit his significant other at the hospital, but hospital officials weren't informed of Hernandez's past, Garcia and the head of the Methodist Hospital System's police department said during a news conference Monday.

What happened: Hernandez was released from prison on parole on Oct. 20, 2021, on the condition that he remain on electronic monitoring, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials.

• Hernandez was arrested twice since then on parole violations, in March in Dallas and in June in Carrollton, Garcia said.
• He was held in state custody from July 19 to Sept. 28 for "a technical violation to his electronic monitoring," according to TDCJ.

North Texas has one of the country's highest inflation rates.

Driving the news: Consumers in the area that includes Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington are now paying 9.2% more for goods and services than a year ago. The national rate is 8.2%, per the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.

Why it matters: The figures released last week have become key political benchmarks in the 2022 election.

The big picture: Consumer prices nationwide continued to soar in September, with the Consumer Price Index rising 0.4% from the prior month — double economists' expectations, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.

• Industry experts say the latest report puts pressure on the Federal Reserve, which is already raising interest rates aggressively, to consider another historic rate hike in November to prevent a recession.

🏳️‍🌈 An Arlington Public Library survey, which asks the public to weigh in on a proposed policy to ban any LGBTQ images in the youth sections of the building, closes at midnight. (KERA)

⚖️ The man who sold the gun used during the hostage situation at a Colleyville synagogue in January was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. (WFAA)

⚾️ Bruce Bochy, the new Texas Rangers manager, said he took the job after three years of retirement because, "I miss the game." (ESPN)

🎡 The State Fair of Texas hosted 2.5 million visitors over its 24-day run this year. (FOX4)

The town of Celina has somehow become the official Halloween Capital of Texas.

• This weekend, the city held its annual fall festival, dubbed "Beware of the Square." It was quite a frenzied, frightening good time.

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Today's Taco Tuesday takes us to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, where a new "Monster Taco" has gone viral.

• Though FC Dallas was bounced from this year's MLS playoffs, there will still be plenty of reasons to make it to the soccer stadium — and try this oversized treat.

What to order: Monster Taco.

Where: Vaqueros (located at Stands 3 & 9) at Toyota Stadium.

Cost: $16.

Pro tip: Get extra napkins, and maybe a friend you don't mind sharing germs with.

Six-word review: Slippery, sloppy, cheesy, delicious, gluttonous indulgence.

🤔 Know a great taco we should try? Hit reply and let us know.