An email had been sent out and forwarded around, claiming that ACORN was using the tax office to deny conservatives their vote:
To all my friends,
I have heard of recent complaints that the Harris County Voters Registration Office is cancelling Voters Registraion due to receipt of a signed written request supposidly sent by the Voter.
My Son J received a letter last week and when he called the Registrar’s office they said they could not produce the “written request” for cancellation. You must request (in writing) a hearing to appeal the cancellation to get your Voter’s Registration re-issued. Then you must show up for that hearing.
Now I have received a similar letter from Leo Vasquez – Harris Co. Voter Registrar.
I did not send a written request to cancel my Voter Registration. This has never happened in the past, so why now?
I suspect this is another fraudulent action of ACORN or its affiliates to remove conservatives from being able to vote, while they register convicted felons, non-US citizens, and others not truly eligible to vote.
Have you received such a Notice of Cancellation??
If so, we need to assemble a list and contact the Harris Co. DA’s Office to start an investigation immediately.
Please let me know if you or anyone you know has had their Voter Registration Cancelled.
Thanks,
D
I told the person that sent it that it sounded like an email hoax and not to worry about it. But to his credit, Leo did worry about it. He had his staff investigate it and it turned out that there was some truth in it. And it also turned out that a mistake had been made in regards to the guy’s son’s voters registration. Here is the resolution:
Mr. H: Thank you again for communicating to the Tax Office your concern regarding possible fraud in voter registration. After our investigation, I have concluded that no fraud was involved in the situation you reported.
Believe it or not, there were THREE registered voters named JB on the Harris County roll. The wrong JB (but the one whose signature most closely matched the cancellation request’s signature) was cancelled from the voter roll per a written request (because he has moved out of county).
DM, JB’s step-father, received a cancellation notice because he recently registered to vote in Florida and, therefore, is ineligible to vote in Texas as well. His cancellation letter was the same form as JB’s and referenced his “request,” which was confusing to DM, as he had not sent a request to the Tax Office (we receive this data from the Texas Secretary of State).
The Director and Assistant Director of the Voters’ Department have spoken to JB and DM to explain the situation and apologize for the confusion.
This was quite a coincidence, given the relationship between JB and DM. I can understand their confusion. We are looking into ways to use this experience to improve the Tax Office’s processes.
Thank you again for your assistance.
Judge Martha Hill Jamison
Office of Leo Vasquez
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar
Well, how about that? An actual solution to the problem, an opportunity to improve the office, and three taxpayers happy with their interaction with a governmental entity. A win/win, no?
Which is pretty much what Leo brought to the office. Win/win solutions.
Gonna miss that.