Integrity of voter roll Yes, it’s at risk
Regarding “GOP should be judicious before questioning election integrity” (City/State, Sunday): What columnist Erica Grieder obscures in her column is that the Harris County voter roll integrity is at risk due to the actions or inactions of Harris County Voter Registrar Ann Bennett. Grieder stated “…they would be wrong to air such concerns as Bettencourt and Stanart did on Friday —without evidence, and without regard for context.” Let’s review both:
First, in the Oct. 26 editions (“Baytown ballot error caught as voting surges,” Page A4), the Chronicle reported that 294 Baytown residents were excluded from the vote roll because the voter registration department failed to process an annexation sent to them in July.
Second, the Texas Secretary of State’s office issued its first opinion in five years which concludes both Registrar Bennett and the County Attorney’s Office erred in the handling of a 4,000-voter residency challenge by constituent Al Vera. He found over 40 voters are registered at one UPS store, 11152 Westheimer, which clearly is a commercial address. Bennett inappropriately suspended 1,790 voters, then reinstated them but refused to do her mandatory duty to process the challenge legally. The result is these voters are still registered at commercial addresses around the county.
Third, Bennett, represented by the country attorney’s office, is fighting against an open records request in federal court which would release the names of self-identified noncitizens from the jury wheel in Harris County. Bennett refuses to release the list and will not confirm these noncitizens have been removed from the voter roll.
An elected voter registrar has the duty to transparently respond. Where is Bennett’s statement?
Mistakes, not following the law, and a lack of transparency factually support our statement that the integrity of the voter roll is at risk. Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston