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Texas
In reply to the discussion: Latest O'Keefe attack on Battleground Texas is bogus-It is not illegal to copy phone numbers [View all]Gothmog
(144,005 posts)7. It is not clear that this section applies to deputy voter registrars used by Battleground
I saw that section but it applies to the county and it is not clear that it applies to deputy registrars. See http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/19/election-officials-question-battleground-activitie/
A Democratic election law expert, Buck Wood of Austin, expressed doubt that any crime occurred. He said the plain language of the statute makes it clear that the volunteer registrars are not considered to be county officials. He said the law was intended to ensure the government isnt disseminating private information and doesnt address what volunteers who get a phone number from a would-be voter at a county fair booth, for example, can do with the information.
Wood said only the Legislature would have the power to change the law to make the criminal provision apply to volunteer registrars.
They could define it as being improper, Wood said. I dont think youd ever be able to reach them criminally.
See also http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=11547
The only problem with OKeefes allegation is that it is utterly false. What OKeefe did was to clip a portion of the Texas election code that says The registrar may not transcribe, copy, or otherwise record a telephone number furnished on a registration application. What he either fails to understand, or is deliberately misrepresenting, is that this section of the law applies only to the Registrar of Voters and other county officials. It does not apply to the volunteers or organizations that distribute and collect voter registration forms. In fact, the Texas Secretary of State website addresses this matter directly in their Frequently Asked Questions for volunteers:Q: May I photocopy a completed application before turning it in to the county voter registrar?
A: No. Section 13.004(c-1) of the Code requires the county voter registrar to ensure that certain information, such as the telephone number, on a registration application is redacted from photocopies of voter registration applications from her office. In our opinion, this means that a photocopy of an application must come directly from the county voter registrars office, so that he or she may ensure the required information has been blacked out or otherwise obscured. With that said, we believe that a volunteer deputy registrar may photocopy the receipt. You may also copy the relevant information from the application in writing just as you would be able to do if you went to the registrars office and pulled a copy of the original application.
So actual photocopies are not allowed, but manually recording the data is expressly permitted. And thats all that Battleground Texas is doing. The purpose of the applicable code is to prohibit confidential voter information from being published or otherwise made public by people on the government payroll who could have motive and opportunity to abuse their power. But Battleground Texas is not a government agency, nor are they publishing any of the data. Also, the information defined as confidential is specified in the code and includes things like the social security number and drivers license number, but not the phone number.
The information with the voter's driver's license number and/or social security number is at the top of the voter registration form and so it is easy to have a piece of paper on the copier that cuts off that part of the voter registration application letting one copy the rest of the application.
I think that James O'Keefe is not telling the whole truth here and that this video is misleading
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