Breaking The Rules To Turn Texas Blue

 

February 20, 2014 by Ben Bullard

Project Veritas, the conservative nonprofit founded by controversial one-man media army James O’Keefe, has had its troubles over the years. But O’Keefe’s latest video seems to suggest that the Democratic “Battleground Texas” political action committee is stretching the law in order to track and influence the new voters its field representatives are signing up.

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At the :50 mark, Battleground Texas field organizer Jennifer Longoria describes what she and other activists do with the personal information they take down whenever they persuade someone to register to vote. If the video can be believed, it’s against Texas voting laws.

Longoria: So every time we register somebody to vote, we keep their name, number…

Investigator: And that’s from the voter registration form?

Longoria: Right from the form. That data collection is the key.

Key to what? Staying in touch with the people they’ve registered in order to promote the gubernatorial campaign of State Senator Wendy Davis, as the video makes clear.

Texas law prohibits the “registrar” — that is, the person registering another as a voter — from keeping that information for any use other than the maintenance of voting lists within the Secretary of State’s office. It’s illegal to “transcribe, copy, or otherwise record a telephone number furnished on a registration application,” under the State’s election code.

Here’s the relevant part:

Sec. 13.004.  RECORDING AND DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REGISTRAR.  (a)  The registrar may not transcribe, copy, or otherwise record a telephone number furnished on a registration application.

(b)  The registrar may transcribe, copy, or otherwise record a social security number furnished on a registration application only in maintaining the accuracy of the registration records.

(c)  The following information furnished on a registration application is confidential and does not constitute public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code:

(1)  a social security number;

(2)  a Texas driver’s license number;

(3)  a number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety;

(4)  an indication that an applicant is interested in working as an election judge; or

(5)  the residence address of the applicant, if the applicant is a federal judge or state judge, as defined by Section 13.0021, or the spouse of a federal judge or state judge, and included an affidavit with the registration application under Section 13.0021 or the registrar has received an affidavit submitted under Section 15.0215.

(c-1)  The registrar shall ensure that the information listed in Subsection (c) is excluded from disclosure.

(d)  The voter registrar or other county official who has access to the information furnished on a registration application may not post the following information on a website:

(1)  a telephone number;

(2)  a social security number;

(3)  a driver’s license number or a number of a personal identification card;

(4)  a date of birth; or

(5)  the residence address of a voter who is a federal judge or state judge, as defined by Section 13.0021, or the spouse of a federal judge or state judge, if the voter included an affidavit with the application under Section 13.0021 or the registrar has received an affidavit submitted under Section 15.0215.