EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of Illegals Have Registered to Vote in Bexar County
Officials are confident new procedures will purge them from the rollsBy Jim ForsythWednesday, May 16, 2007 Hundreds of illegal immigrants have registered to vote in Bexar County in recent years and dozens of them have actually cast ballots, canceling out the votes of U.S. citizens, 1200 WOAI news will report Thursday morning.
Figures obtained by 1200 WOAI news shows 303 illegals successfully registered to vote, and at least 41 cast ballots in various elections.
Bexar County Elections Administrator Jackie Callanan confirmed the figures, but she says a new form of voter registration card, which requires people to swear they are citizens when they register, should help cut the problem, because people who vote illegally can be charged with perjury.
And the county has some sly ways to catch them.
“Maybe they have received a jury summons, the jury wheel relies on registered voters. They send a statement to the jury room that says they are not U.S. citizens and then we get that report immediately,” Callanan says.
It’s a hot issue in the Texas Legislature, where republicans are pushing a bill that would require voters to show some form of identification before voting.
“Considering that a photo ID is required to buy Sudafed, I can’t understand why anyone would argue that the same standard, if not a higher standard, should apply to voting,” Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst said. “Why would any Texan oppose legislation that ensures only U.S. citizens vote in elections?”