Did Harris County Wrongfully Reject ACORN Voter Registration Applications

In a Houston Chronicle story about voter registration applications submitted by ACORN this year, I couldn’t help but notice–and be alarmed–by the grounds upon which Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector Paul Bettencourt says his office rejected voter registration applications:

Although nearly 40 percent of the 35,000 voter registration applications submitted in Harris County by a community-organizing group accused of fraud in other states were rejected, there is no evidence of intentional manipulation of the voter rolls here, according to the county’s voter registrar.

Elections officials in more than a dozen states are investigating reports that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, submitted fraudulent registrations. Republican leaders have called for a federal investigation, and GOP presidential nominee John McCain has been using connections between the group and his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, as fuel for attacks in the final weeks of the campaign.

About half of the 14,000 ACORN applications that were rejected in Harris County were missing required information such as the potential voter’s address, date of birth and Texas driver’s license number, said Paul Bettencourt, the county’s voter registrar and tax assessor-collector. Another 3,800 applicants already were registered to vote.

The problem here is that a Texas driver’s license isn’t required on the voter registration application.

	§ 13.002.  APPLICATION REQUIRED.  (a)  A person desiring
to register to vote must submit an application to the registrar of
the county in which the person resides.  Except as provided by
Subsection (e), an application must be submitted by personal
delivery or by mail.
	(b)  A registration application must be in writing and signed
by the applicant.
	(c)  A registration application must include:
		(8)  the following information:
			(A)  the applicant's Texas driver's license number
or the number of a personal identification card issued by the
Department of Public Safety or a statement by the applicant that the
applicant has not been issued a driver's license or personal
identification card; or
			(B)  if the applicant has not been issued a number
described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's
social security number or a statement by the applicant that the
applicant has not been issued a social security number;

A Texas driver’s license is not required on the application to register to vote; in fact, you need neither a driver’s license, an official state ID card, or even Social Security Number to be able to register–merely a statement that you do not have one. If you have a Social Security Number but not a driver’s license or state issued ID, then you must put the last four digits of your SSN.

So, exactly what is Bettencourt doing here? It appears that he is violating state law. I think an inspection of those rejected applications is needed to determine exactly whether or not Bettencourt violated the law.

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