Austin, TX, Release: October 19, 2022 — For Immediate Release
Last week the Republican Party of Texas broke the news that Planned Parenthood Texas Votes was mailing voter registration applications to deceased individuals. Since that release, we have confirmed numerous other examples of deceased individuals receiving registration applications from Planned Parenthood and continue receiving information about other applications sent to deceased individuals. The average time since the individual addressed in the mailer has passed is over 9 years.
- W K Hoffman, deceased 2011
- Eleanor Culberson, deceased 2015
- Caro Walker, deceased 2016
- Edward Blackburn, deceased 2009
Additionally, the Republican Party of Texas has been able to confirm these political mailers from Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV) do not contain the proper political disclaimer in violation of the Texas Ethics Code. “A disclosure statement must include (1) the words “political advertising” or a recognizable abbreviation such as “pol. adv.” and (2) the full name of (a) the person who paid for the political advertising; (b) the political committee authorizing the political advertising; or (c) the candidate or specific-purpose committee supporting the candidate, if the political advertising is authorized by the candidate.” Copies of this mailing reviewed by the Republican Party of Texas do not contain any disclosure statement.
Not to be outdone, the Republican Party of Texas was able to confirm that Beto O’Rourke’s campaign has also been sending pre-filled registration applications to deceased individuals. Setting aside the fact these pre-filled applications were sent to deceased individuals, they also raise numerous privacy concerns, as they contain an individual’s name, address, and date of birth. Similar to PPTV, the average time since the individual addressed in the mailer has passed is over 13 years.
Matt Rinaldi, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas said “These blatant attacks on our elections will not stand. We have trained an army of poll watchers and election workers that will blanket Texas for early voting and election day to ensure our elections are secure. In January when the legislature reconvenes, we will raise the penalty for election fraud back to a felony and make sure violators like this are served justice.”
According to Chapter 16 of the Texas Election Code, the Secretary of State is mandated to keep a list of persons, composed from various federal, state, and local lists, of individuals who are ineligible to register to vote because they are deceased. Under Texas Election Code section 276.013 it is considered election fraud, and a misdemeanor offense to register under false pretenses or vote for a deceased person. This penalty was lowered from a felony during the last legislative session, and the Republican Party of Texas has made it an official Legislative Priority to restore the felony penalty for election fraud.
If you or someone you know has received mailers like this, please send pictures and other evidence to press@texasgop.org.
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