quote:

Two poll workers plead guilty to illegal voting

by Mihir Zaveri
May 22, 2017 Updated: May 22, 2017 8:16p

Two people who worked as election clerks during the May 2016 primary runoff have pleaded guilty to unlawfully casting a ballot for another person, Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart announced Monday.

Jeanene Johnson, 63, and Latunia Thomas, 46, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of "unlawful deposit of ballot" earlier this month. They served one day in jail, and were released, according to the Harris County District Attorney's office.

With Johnson's help, Thomas cast a ballot for her daughter at a Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services building during early voting for the May 24, 2016 primary runoff, according to Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorney's office. He said Thomas' daughter was not present at the polling location.

"My office found convincing evidence that voter fraud was committed," Stanart, a Republican, said in a statement Monday. "The evidence was provided to the Harris County District Attorney's Office who presented the case to a Harris County Grand Jury."

Stanart's announcement comes amid allegations of rampant voter fraud, which have been used by Republican lawmakers across the country to ramp up controversial Voter ID laws. President Donald Trump has claimed that millions of people voted illegally for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and this month has put together a commission to help study how many non-citizens illegally cast ballots.

In Texas, voter fraud was one of the central arguments behind the state's controversial 2011 Voter ID law, one of the strictest in the nation, requiring voters to present one of seven types of photo identification before being allowed to cast a ballot in person. Critics say the measure has no effect on mail-in ballots and accuse Republican lawmakers of trying to disenfranchise minority voters.

A federal judge in Corpus Christi last year ruled that the law was passed with discriminatory intent and violated federal voting rights law. She reached the same conclusion earlier this year after a federal appeals court rejected part of her ruling claiming the law amounted to an illegal poll tax.

Lawmakers are working on a revamped version of the law, which Gov. Greg Abbott declared an emergency in the final days of the Texas legislative session.

Stanart said both Thomas and Johnson were election clerks hired to work the poll by the county at the recommendation of the Harris County Democratic Party.

Lillie Schechter, who was elected chair of the Harris County Democratic Party earlier year, said she was not familiar with the incident as she was not chair when the crime took place. But she said the party will continue to take "voter fraud very seriously" and prioritize poll-watching and voter suppression.

Both defendants were charged with a felony, but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. The two were investigated after other clerks noticed the pair casting the ballot, Stanart said.

Stanart said that obtaining convictions on such crimes is rare. He said this month's convictions were the most significant finding and prosecution of voter fraud in the last decade-and-a-half.

The Texas attorney general's office has received more than 700 reports of voter fraud since 2002, but has prosecuted only 93 since 2005.

"It's one thing to find it," Stanart said. "It's another thing to be able to have something where you could prove it."

An individual who answered a telephone number listed for Thomas referred questions to Thomas's attorney, who said she would not be able to reach her client Monday evening. Johnson could not be reached for comment Monday and her attorney said she could not respond to questions Monday evening without speaking to Johnson.

quote:

A federal judge in Corpus Christi last year ruled that the law was passed with discriminatory intent and violated federal voting rights law. She reached the same conclusion earlier this year after a federal appeals court rejected part of her ruling claiming the law amounted to an illegal poll tax.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
They should spend one day swinging by the neck from a rope.

Only one day. I'm all about leniency.

And I am "heart attack" serious.

quote:

Calhoun County voters elected Shelby Sebastian over Susan Riley, 517 to 455 in the Democratic runoff election for Calhoun County clerk Tuesday.

Neither Sebastian nor Riley could be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The results mark the end of a dramatic race that involved suspected election fraud and a hearing in district court.

Sebastian received 763 votes in the March primary. Riley and Grace Gonzalez tossed a coin to break a 630-vote tie. Riley won and advanced to the runoff.

Gonzalez contested the results after the county's Democratic Party chairwoman, Evelyn Burleson, was suspected of election fraud, a third-degree felony.

During the primary, Burleson voted twice - once during early voting and again on Election Day. The county clerk's race was close enough that one vote might have affected the outcome.

District Judge Pat Kelly, of Victoria, upheld the primary election results. A Calhoun County grand jury decided not to indict Burleson.

Investigations by the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers showed no motive for the illegal vote nor any criminal intent, according to a news release by Criminal District Attorney Dan Heard.

Sebastian will face Republican Anna Goodman in the November general election.

quote:

screw it and just give DL and Walkers Permits away for free and tack the $9-$25 a drivers license cost on to some other car/tag related fee. Net zero lost income and zero argument for it being a poll tax.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:

quote:

screw it and just give DL and Walkers Permits away for free and tack the $9-$25 a drivers license cost on to some other car/tag related fee. Net zero lost income and zero argument for it being a poll tax.

Exactly. It will end that argument forever, and the cost is paltry compared to the cost of fraud. Is that why it never happens, because too many politicians know it would work?

quote:

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday that paves the way for implementation of Texas’ voter ID law, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced it will begin processing applications for free voter ID cards this week.

On Wednesday, the department will begin issuing so-called election identification certificates for qualified voters. Offering the certificates is required by Senate Bill 14, a measure that passed in 2011 but was on hold until Tuesday's decision.

The IDs are free and will be available to voters who do not yet have a viable form of ID, such as a driver’s license, a concealed handgun license, a passport or military ID. Applicants must go to a DPS driver’s license office to apply and show proof of citizenship. The IDs can only be used to vote, and are not acceptable forms of personal identification for other purposes.

To qualify, applicants must be U.S. citizens and Texas residents and be eligible to vote in Texas. They must prove it by showing a valid voter registration card or submitting a voter registration application when applying for the card. Most documents will be valid for six years, though they do not expire for citizens 70 or older.

An accepted list of documents that prove citizenship can be found here, and proof of identity documents can be found here.

The free IDs were in response to opponents of voter ID who said thousands of voters would not have access to — or money for — valid IDs. Though they are available for no charge, opponents say obtaining the free IDs will still be difficult for potential voters who live far from DPS offices, or who don’t have money to purchase copies of their birth certificates if they don’t already have the document.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus Dei:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:

quote:

screw it and just give DL and Walkers Permits away for free and tack the $9-$25 a drivers license cost on to some other car/tag related fee. Net zero lost income and zero argument for it being a poll tax.

Exactly. It will end that argument forever, and the cost is paltry compared to the cost of fraud. Is that why it never happens, because too many politicians know it would work?

We did..I think. I need a DL, so I have no interest in looking into this.

quote:

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday that paves the way for implementation of Texas’ voter ID law, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced it will begin processing applications for free voter ID cards this week.

On Wednesday, the department will begin issuing so-called election identification certificates for qualified voters. Offering the certificates is required by Senate Bill 14, a measure that passed in 2011 but was on hold until Tuesday's decision.

The IDs are free and will be available to voters who do not yet have a viable form of ID, such as a driver’s license, a concealed handgun license, a passport or military ID. Applicants must go to a DPS driver’s license office to apply and show proof of citizenship. The IDs can only be used to vote, and are not acceptable forms of personal identification for other purposes.

To qualify, applicants must be U.S. citizens and Texas residents and be eligible to vote in Texas. They must prove it by showing a valid voter registration card or submitting a voter registration application when applying for the card. Most documents will be valid for six years, though they do not expire for citizens 70 or older.

An accepted list of documents that prove citizenship can be found here, and proof of identity documents can be found here.

The free IDs were in response to opponents of voter ID who said thousands of voters would not have access to — or money for — valid IDs. Though they are available for no charge, opponents say obtaining the free IDs will still be difficult for potential voters who live far from DPS offices, or who don’t have money to purchase copies of their birth certificates if they don’t already have the document .

LINK

quote:

Originally posted by LoungeChair:
A national ID card would clean up this mess and go a long way toward driving illegals from the country.

quote:

Originally posted by florida boy:
No leniency at all for voter fraud,IMHO!