Bill to address voter fraud in West Dallas, Grand Prairie gets Senate approval

The Senate gave final approval to a bill Wednesday that would increase penalties for mail-in voter fraud involving the elderly.

"This is not perfect legislation," said Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills and author of the bill. "It is good legislation ... it is a step in the right direction."

After the vote, Hancock said it was important that lawmakers protect Texans against voter fraud.

"Any attempt to scam the system and steal another Texan's vote must be addressed accordingly.," Hancock said in a prepared statement. "SB 5 cracks down on mail-in ballot fraud by increasing penalties, creating signature verification checks and balances, and ensuring enhanced protections for elderly and disabled voters."

Senate Democrats unsuccessfully offered amendments that would protect a person from prosecution because they unwittingly broke the law by assisting a family member with voting.

Sens. Royce West, D-Dallas, and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said they could not support the bill because of a provision that could result in residents sending family members to jail.

West said he didn't want to see people being prosecuted for "talking about voting around the kitchen table."

"Your bill, frankly, criminalizes that," West said.

West later told The Dallas Morning News:  "If my mother was filling out a ballot and asked me if she should vote for John Wiley Price, and I told her 'Yes,' under this bill I could be prosecuted."

Hancock disagreed, and the Senate ultimately voted 21-10 to send the bill to the House.

"I do anticipate changes from the House," Hancock told West. "We'll be glad to continue this discussion."

Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, offered amendments that would expand access to voting and create a criminal penalty for people who deceive voters by circulating ads with the wrong election date or other misleading information. The amendments failed.

Hancock's bill would increase the penalties for some offenses related to illegally assisting an elderly person with voting, or illegally handling or harvesting a ballot.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presided over debate on the bill to impose stricter penalties in case of voter fraud.&nbsp;(Tamir Kalifa/Austin American-Statesman)
(Tamir Kalifa/Austin American-Statesman)

A fraudulent use of a ballot, for instance, would rise from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The proposed law deals specifically with fraud targeted at residents over the age of 65, and it also places tougher penalties on repeat offenders or people with multiple charges for the same election.

The proposal also seeks to help election officials better scrutinize the signatures on mail-in ballots to prevent fraud.

Efforts to clean up the mail-in ballot process have increasingly gained bipartisan support, including in North Texas, where elections have been stained by fraud.

Miguel Hernandez, 27, of Dallas was arrested this month on a charge of illegal voting, a third-degree felony. He is accused of visiting a woman around April 10 and collecting her blank absentee ballot, then filling it out and forging her signature on it before mailing it to the county, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

During the weeks leading up to the May municipal elections, dozens of senior citizens in West Dallas and Grand Prairie filed complaints saying they had received mail-in ballots that they had not requested. Some of them had also been told their mail-in ballot applications said they had been assisted by a "Jose Rodriguez," a man they didn't know.

At the district attorney's request, a judge ordered the sequestration of 700 ballots that were linked to "Jose Rodriguez," which authorities believed to be a fake name.

The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected.

"There is a problem. It's manifested itself in Dallas County and in my district," West said. "This is a good bill. I want to support it. Hopefully as it goes through the process, the necessary changes will be made so I can support it."