Texas Emerges As Hotbed For Confusion, Allegations Of Voter Impropriety In Early Ballot Casting

AUSTIN, TX -- With a week of early voting in the record books -- in a state that has, literally, broken records for voter turnout in a hotly contested presidential race -- accusations of voter shenanigans have emerged from both sides of the political divide.

The drama comes with the implausible emergence of Texas as a toss-up state, with Democratic Hillary Clinton within striking distance of her GOP rival Donald Trump. The two are separated in the polls within the margin of error -- a remarkable development given the deep-red history of Texas which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976.

Amid that blue-red drama, there have been a smattering of reports of outdated literature instructing voters in a state where a federal court this summer ruled and the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed the state's Voter ID law -- considered one of the nation's strictest -- was unconstitutional, in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

That plot twist alone has spawned accusations of voter intimidation and misinformation by poll workers among civil rights advocates, just months after Texas was forced to allow a more amplified list of allowable identification forms in order to vote.

Since 2011, Texas had only allowed a set of seven photo IDs in order to vote, leading to claims the conservative-led state government was marginalizing a largely minority bloc of voters (and traditionally Democratic voters) from participating in the elections process. Given those narrow parameters, a scenario prompting the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to deem the Texas Voter ID law as unconstitutional.

The Texas Election Protection coalition, a coalition of several civil rights groups, told reporters on Friday they have received 325 calls of complaint since early voting began on Oct. 24. The calls illustrated the ongoing confusion as to what forms of identification are now acceptable to cast a ballot.

In striking down the state's Voter ID law, the court ruled that those without or can't "reasonably obtain" a photo ID still can vote by signing a statement to that effect at their ballot site and choosing from alternate forms of ID such as a utility bill, paycheck or bank statement.

Yet Texas Election Protection coalition officials said Friday that some polling places in Bexar, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Hayes, McLennan and Travis counties were still displaying the outdated signs calling for voters to present one of the seven photo IDs -- n violation of a requirement for updated signage that was a key part of the court's ruling.

“In the past four days, we have received hundreds of reports by way of our Election Protection hotline and partners about inaccurate voter ID information at early voting locations across the state; long lines, machine malfunctions and reports of intimidation," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told reporters in a conference call on Friday.

Given the confusion, some voters have reportedly been turned away from the polls for lack of a photo ID, in spite (and, some would say, in the face of) the relaxed rules emerging by virtue of the federal court.

“Across Texas we are seeing local election officials undermine the weight of the 5th Circuit’s ruling striking down the state’s photo id law as discriminatory," Clarke said. "Instead of changing the rules, some counties across Texas continue to impose the strict photo id law and have posting signs that suggest to voters that the photo id law remains in effect. This is simply unacceptable. The court has spoken and local officials must immediately stop imposing a law that was found discriminatory. "

To counter such suppression, the group urged voters to continue reporting violations to the Election Protection program via their 866-OUR-VOTE hotline.”

Other voter advocacy groups received similar claims. Mimi Marziani, executive director with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said her staff members were busy addressing similar claims from the first week of early voting.

“We are committed to protecting and expanding the voting rights of all eligible Texans, and particularly focused on historically disenfranchised communities, such as voters of color, young voters and voters without means," Marziani said. "That’s why we are so excited about this year’s Texas election protection coalition, and the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, which is bringing together key national and local partners to ensure that Texas voters have the support they need to cast a ballot that will count, in English and Spanish."

Such efforts are heightened given the unique backdrop that unfolded in Texas, unfurled for the first time since the state's controversial Voter ID law was struck down. Civil rights advocates affirmed they have been seeing an unprecedented spike in voter turnout as a result of the new set of more inclusive guidelines taking effect.

Those high turnouts amid a polarizing election cycle, however, have resulted in more questions from voters and a strain on the system, yielding a hotbed of confusion. On Saturday (Oct. 29), such chaos was expected to be even higher as untold numbers of voters head out on their day off to cast their votes, civil rights officials noted in the conference call.

In response, civil rights officials said lawyers from their organizations have been sending formal letters to both county and state elections to remedy such issues, including a letter sent Friday night to officials in Denton County -- a deeply conservative part of the country some 40 miles north of Dallas -- demanding they comply with the new federal-court-ordered rules on allowable forms of ID.

Texas Election Protection representatives said it was in Denton County where a voter who had lost her photo ID visited the Civic Center early voting location,asking -- per the new rules -- if she could sign a reasonable impediment declaration in order to provide supporting identification in order to cast a regular ballot.

Instead, the woman said poll workers told her the reasonable impediment declaration was not an option for her, coalition officials said. She was given the option of casting a provisional ballot instead and then asked to leave after she protested, coalition officials said.

Civil rights advocates also have received reports of voter intimidation, they said.

"Unfortunately, we have already received troubling reports of intimidation, including an armed patrol person talking to voters waiting in line in North Texas," one official noted.

Still, coalition officials were optimistic in knowing a majority of voters won't experience problems at the polls as early voting continues until Nov. 4, leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

"We're thrilled to have a large and growing list of volunteers signed up to assist voters at the polls across the state," said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director with Common Cause Texas. "Despite the confusion out there, we're optimistic that our election protection program can help to ensure that no Texans is deprived of their right to have a voice in this historic election."

He attributed some of the confusion reported not on outright malfeasance, but poor planning and scant funding made available to local governments to adequately convey the new rules for voting in Texas.

"We do find it unfortunate that the voter education campaign that was intended to inform Texans on the changes to the Voter ID law was so badly underfunded and poorly executed," Gutierrez said. "Certainly there is a connection between their failure to get the word out and the confusion we're seeing at the polls."

Yet some pockets of Texas continue to be a major source of concern. Houston is the largest such "pocket" of concern, with Harris County's population of more than 4 million making it not only the state's most populous county but the third-most populous in the nation.

“Harris County and Houston have already seen problems during early voting," Tiffany Hogue, policy director with the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund, said. "The Texas Organizing Project has trained over 100 field and legal volunteers to help voters with any questions or concerns they may have. In just the first week of early voting, we have seen several problems with voter ID issues, including poll workers giving incorrect information and old voter ID flyers still posted in polling locations.”

Those advocating for the formerly disenfranchised aren't the only ones alleging improprieties. Trump himself tweeted reports of "vote flipping" supposedly occurring in Tarrant County, a claim that has since been widely debunked. The unfounded allegations are part of Trump's broader message to his followers -- amid his dwindling support in national polls -- that the entire voting system is rigged against him.

"A lot of call-ins about vote flipping at the voting booths in Texas," Trump tweeted. "People are not happy. BIG lines. What is going on?"

In response, Frank Phillips, the election administrator for Tarrant County told WFAA the candidate's assertions of "vote flipping" were not valid. As usual in times of heavy voter turnout, such claims stem from user error, rather than orchestrated fraud undertaken with voting machine manipulation, he said.

“Typically, we’ve found it’s voter error with the equipment,” he told the news station. “Sometimes they vote straight party and then click on other candidates ... or do something with the wheel. There is not an issue with the equipment.”

A report in The Dallas Morning News, detailed advice from election officials encouraging voters to double-check their ballot before pulling the lever if voting on a straight ticket. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made a similar urge on Facebook earlier.
"Make sure all of your selections are correct before hitting the button to cast a ballot," Abbott wrote in his Facebook post.

Amid the confusion of new, court-ordered rules in Texas, some are working overtime to dissuade some voters from casting ballots through intimidation. The forces behind such efforts aren't official ones, but emerging from the murky world of the Internet, emerging from the dark underbelly of social media.

An image has been circulating widely on Twitter purportedly showing an immigration officer arresting a person in line to vote. The image attempts to further the myth of widespread voting by undocumented immigrants (despite safeguards in place preventing this) with ballots that would lean Democratic.

The photo, however, is not real, according to reports including one produced by ProPublica and Univision. It's a hoax seemingly designed to intimidate Hispanic voters, a composite of two photographs readily found on the Internet, according to the report.

Back on terra firma with feet firmly planted in reality, there has not been a single report of anyone being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while voting to date. But in myriad ways, the photo is emblematic of the tension-filled election process currently being seen in Texas.

Democracy isn't always pretty, and Texas is emerging as a case study in that assertion.

For a list of acceptable forms of ID now allowed to vote in Texas, click here. For more information on voting in Texas, visit VoteTexas.gov or call 1-800-252-VOTE.

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