Hopkins County Health Care Foundation’s First Men’s Health Initiative Exceeds Goals
August 16, 2024 – Sulphur Springs, TX –
The Hopkins County Health Care Foundation held two firsts this year. One was Man Bingo, also known as Mingo, which was bingo with prizes men (or anyone) would enjoy. This was held on April 18 for 198 players with a net income of approximately $12,000. Since it was the first year to offer Man Bingo, proceeds were expected to be less.
With the income from Man Bingo, the Foundation offered its second first, a health initiative targeting Hopkins County men. Sixty free heart calcium scans were offered at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs during July. 56 men took the Foundation’s offer for scans.
The Foundation will more than likely hold a second Mingo in April 2025 with proceeds once again going to a men’s health initiative,
For several years, the Foundation has offered a free mammography clinic for uninsured Hopkins County women over the age of 40. The next one will be held in October. The Foundation’s Board of Directors was eager to add a program to benefit local men.
The Foundation extends its appreciation to community members for sponsoring and participating in Mingo. Additionally, the Foundation was pleased that so many local men recognized the need for a heart calcium scan.
The Foundation is an IRS 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization focusing on Hopkins County healthcare.
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Texas Election Officials are Dealing with a Flood of Challenges to Voter Registrations
By Natalia Contreras, The Texas Tribune
Aug. 16, 2024 – County election departments across Texas are trying to reassure voters amid a flood of formal challenges questioning whether their registrations are valid.
The challenges, filed by conservative groups and individual activists, seek to remove tens of thousands of voters from the rolls on the grounds that they don’t live in the county, are not citizens or have died.
Election officials say the challenges are complicating the work they’re already doing to keep their voter rolls updated. They want voters to know that they’re following state and federal laws that protect voters from being improperly removed from the rolls if someone questions their eligibility.
Multiple election officials told Votebeat that the majority of the challenges they’ve received are against voters whose status their offices had already flagged through their daily voter list maintenance. In a few cases, the challenges start a process that could lead to careful removal of voters after the November election.
“Even though a challenge is filed, doesn’t mean that you will be automatically dropped,” said Trudy Hancock, the Brazos County elections administrator. “There is a process in place to protect the voter who’s been challenged.”
At this point in the election cycle, voters aren’t at risk of being dropped from the rolls because of a challenge. Under federal law, election officials can’t cancel a voter’s registration in the period 90 days ahead of Election Day, except for voters who voluntarily cancel their registration or who are convicted of a felony.
Still, election officials are required to process the voter eligibility challenges they receive, and act on valid ones. Election administrators in Collin, Travis, Hays, Brazos, Tarrant, and Denton counties and others have been sifting through large volumes of these, which they began receiving in June, targeting thousands of voters.
The large-scale challenge effort is being led by Houston-based right-wing group True the Vote, which has been working for years to purge the rolls of voters it perceives as ineligible ahead of the November presidential election. It’s part of a wave of challenges aimed at voters in several states, including such battlegrounds as Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The group is using an online tool called IV3 that matches voter data with change-of-address records from the U.S. Postal Service. Activists relying on that tool have been delivering stacks of challenges to election offices, or emailing election administrators with spreadsheets listing voters’ names. True the Vote founder Catherine Engelbrecht did not respond to Votebeat’s request for comment.
The effort has drawn criticism from election officials, courts and voting-rights advocates. For one thing, they say, the postal database that True the Vote relies on is outdated and not a reliable source for determining voter eligibility. For another, they say, the effort gives credence to false claims that large numbers of people are voting illegally by exploiting deficiencies in registration records.
A federal judge in Georgia found this year that True the Vote’s 2020 list of voters to challenge “utterly lacked reliability” and “verges on recklessness.”
“The Court has heard no testimony and seen no evidence of any significant quality control efforts, or any expertise guiding the data process,” he wrote.
Such efforts to challenge voters’ eligibility en masse are “inadequate to address voter eligibility by themselves and also redundant to the work already done by election officials,” according to research on the rise of mass voter challenges by Protect Democracy, a national nonpartisan group promoting fair elections and anti-authoritarian policies.
The report added: “These efforts are based on unsubstantiated and false claims that the rolls are replete with dead voters, voters registered in other locations, and, most recently, noncitizens. Furthermore, they falsely imply that any inaccuracy in the voter rolls equates to or otherwise enables voter fraud. In reality, voter registration rolls are being continuously updated by election officials.”
Most challenges are over residency questions
The numbers are significant. In Travis County, one person has challenged the registrations of 12,000 people. In Brazos, a group of activists has challenged more than 1,000. Collin, Hays, and Tarrant counties each have seen challenges to the eligibility of more than 10,000 voters, officials told Votebeat.
“The vast majority of them are challenging the residence of a registered voter,” said Bruce Sherbet, Collin County elections administrator. He added other challenges included voters who may have listed a commercial address as their residence and voters who may have died.
But Sherbet said his office has already taken action on most of the residency-based challenges through routine voter list maintenance, with some voters being placed on a “suspense” list until they confirm their address.
A voter is placed on the suspense list when the county registrar’s office receives information that the voter no longer lives at that location. Election officials will send a notice to the voter asking them to update their registration information. If a voter stays on the suspense list for two federal general election cycles without casting a ballot or taking action to confirm their address, their registration is canceled.
A voter who is on the suspense list can still vote. They can update their voter registration information before the voter registration deadline, which this year is Oct. 7. Or even at the polls, voters on the list can cast a ballot after filling out a Statement of Residence form.
Until last year, Texas election officials had another resource to help them keep their voter rolls clean. The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, served as a national clearinghouse for data about Texas voters who had moved or died, and helped state officials flag names for counties to investigate. ERIC data from June 2022 helped Texas identify 100,000 voters registered in multiple counties and another 100,000 voters registered in other states.
But Texas ended its participation in ERIC, following a push by state Republican leaders responding to election conspiracy theories. Other GOP-led states also dropped out of ERIC in the period between 2022 and 2023.
Officials with the Texas Secretary of State’s office last year said that instead of ERIC, they would try to obtain the data directly from state and federal agencies, and from other states.
Texas Secretary of State officials declined to comment on whether the withdrawal from ERIC has had an effect on the volume of eligibility challenges counties are receiving.
Checking each challenge has taken a lot of time and resources for some election officials in the midst of planning for the presidential election. In Brazos County, for instance, Hancock has spent weeks responding to a conservative group that has demanded that voters listed in its challenges be removed from the rolls.
Hancock says it’s not as simple as that. Some registrations that may seem suspicious based on a limited data set may be perfectly legitimate. Many voters have the same name and even the same date of birth; some voters who don’t have a permanent address, such as someone who is homeless, can list an alternative address on their registration. In other cases, Hancock says, the group is also questioning voters on the rolls who haven’t voted in some time.
“I can’t just take them off because they don’t vote,” Hancock said, adding she has no legal authority to do so.
She also put together a presentation in July for county commissioners and the public to clarify how her office is handling the challenges she’s received
What Texas laws say about voter registration challenges
Texas doesn’t make it easy to get a voter disqualified through a challenge. Under state law, a voter can challenge another voter’s registration from their own county by submitting a sworn and notarized statement that identifies the targeted voter and the basis for challenging their eligibility. The sworn statement has to be based on the challenger’s “personal knowledge.” According to the Texas Secretary of State, a sworn statement can be used to challenge multiple voters.
Some election officials said most challenges they receive don’t meet the basic requirements to be valid. John Oldham, the Fort Bend County elections administrator, told Votebeat he received nearly 400 challenges. Most lacked a sworn statement.
And if the list of voters being challenged is derived from the USPS change-of-address database, Oldham said, “then to me that does not constitute ‘personal knowledge.’”
According to a Texas Secretary of State advisory to county officials, if a voter registrar receives a valid challenge based on residence — for example, if the voter is registered at 100 Main Street, and the challenge alleges that the voter doesn’t live there — then the registrar will send the challenged voter a notice of address confirmation.
The law says that the registrar can’t send an address confirmation notice for a challenge filed within 75 days before the November election, so this year, the deadline is Aug. 22.
For challenges based on something other than residence, such as citizenship, the registrar has to hold a hearing and give notice to both the challenger and the challenged voter. Based on evidence presented at the hearing, the registrar decides whether to uphold or cancel the voter’s registration, the advisory says.
Some election officials say they’re concerned about the potentially intimidating effect that an address confirmation or hearing notice can have, and the added burdens it can place on voters who are otherwise eligible.
“No question it can be scary for a voter to receive any type of notice, even if it’s a notice of change of address,” said Chris Davis, the voter registration director in Travis County. “If we send a change of address notice, and we don’t hear back, the voter is put on suspense, but what if that notice got lost in the mail? That’s why we’re being really careful. A voter getting a confirmation notice that they need to fill out and send back is still a burden on them.”
Some election officials are now taking additional steps to help voters make sure their registration is up to date ahead of November. In Hays County, election administrator Jennifer Doinoff is working with her staff to create a video that can direct voters on how they can check the status of their voter registration and more.
“We also want voters to know what they can do to help us clean our voter rolls,” Doinoff said. “If they move, we want to show them how they can update their information. If someone in their family has died, we want to show them the forms they can fill out, and also what they can do when they receive their voter registration card in the mail.”
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7. Texas voters can check their voter registration status at votetexas.gov or by calling their local voter registrar. You can find a list of county voter registrars here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/16/voter-registration-challenges-texas/.
Dawna Talks About the Upcoming Olympics in Sulphur Springs on This Episode of A Second Cup Of Coffee
John Mark sat down, again, with Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Activity Center Coordinator Dawna Pryor on this episode of KSST’s A Second Cup Of Coffee With John Mark Dempsey. The conversations covers such topics as the fan give-a-way at the Senior Activity Center, the upcoming Senior Olympics in September, the upcoming tailgate event, and much more. Be sure to check it out below!
Dinner Bell for August 21, 2024
Alliance Bank was chartered as “Sulphur Springs State Bank” (the “Bank”) on June 13, 2027. The Bank turned a profit in 1927and has accomplished this every year since that date; ninety-six contin ual years! The bank building at Main and Gilmer was ruined by a fire in 1934 causing the Bank to move to its present location on the North side of the Square.
In 1937 the Carnation Milk Plant opened and began buying Grade A milk. The Bank encouraged cotton farmers to convert land to pasture by making attractive loans on dairy cows to anyone con tracted to sell to Carnation. This started a very strong relationship between the Bank and the Dairy Industry that remains to the present time.
Sulphur Springs State Bank began serving Greenville and Hunt County in July 1990. It expanded to Wolfe City and Commerce in August, 1993. In February, 1996, the Bank purchased Colonial Bank of Greenville. With moving East, West and into the Metroplex, the Bank, in October of 1996, officially changed its name to Alliance Bank as its footprint extended outside of Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. Additionally, the Bank owns and operates Galyean Insurance Agency and a brokerage com
pany—Alliance Financial Services. Innovative banking products that meet the varied needs of the communities it serves has kept its customers coming to bank with local people they can trust.
The Dinner Bell Feeding Ministry began its partnership with Alliance Bank on March 1, 2017, which continues today with four appearances each year. The realization of the Bank of food insufficiency in Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County and being a Partner four times yearly greatly pleases the Dinner Bell. A Big “Thank You” is extended to Alliance Bank, its officers, staff and clients of its many locations.
Grab and Go with a meal from the distribution area under the covered driveway (porte cochere) on the Northeast corner of the First United Methodist Church campus starting around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
MENU
Mexican Lasagna
Seasoned Pinto Beans
Garden Salad with Guacamole Ranch Dressing
Sopapilla Cheesecake
Take care of YOURSELF by following safe health practices as flu and COVID are lurking in our midst! Wear masks where required! Wash your hands often! Get inoculated and boosted
DINNER BELL CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH !!!
Texas A&M University-Commerce Secures $2.2 Million Grant to Enhance Student Success Programs
August 15, 2024 – The Department of Education grant aims to improve retention and graduation rates for first-time, full-time students at A&M-Commerce.
COMMERCE, TX, August 15, 2024— Texas A&M University-Commerce is set to boost student success with a transformative $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Known as Title III Part A – Strengthening Institutions Program, the grant aims to help colleges and universities increase their capacity to serve low-income students. A&M-Commerce was one out of only six institutions in Texas, 107 nationwide, chosen to receive the grant in October 2023. Funds will be disbursed to the university over five years.
Dr. Sherece Shavel, director of the Title III program at A&M-Commerce, predicts that Title III funding will significantly impact student success.
“A&M-Commerce now has a new layer of capacity to reach, impact and support the needs of students who may have previously fallen through the cracks,” she said.
Four strategies to bolster student success
A&M-Commerce is using the grant money to implement four student support initiatives aimed at helping first-time, full-time students succeed in college:
1. Centralized Success Center: A success center in the university’s Waters Library will enable students to access several supportive services in one centralized location. They include the Office of Student Career Preparedness, Blue to Gold Money Management Center, Student Transition and Support, Academic Advising, and Undergraduate Tutoring Services.
2. Academic Advising: The university will also enhance its Academic Advising services. Advisors from all academic areas will relocate to Waters Library so students can more easily access support. In addition, the advising model is being refreshed. Advisors will become more proactive in reaching out to students at several points during their college careers to help ensure they are on track for graduation and career success.
3. Student Career Preparedness: The Office of Student Career Preparedness is expanding its ability to deliver a broad menu of career services. Services include helping students:
- write effective resumes
- acquire strong interviewing skills
- understand the career implications of changing majors
- find internships, externships and apprenticeships
- understand what they can do with their chosen major and how it translates into a career
“As soon as students are admitted to the university, the Office of Student Career Preparedness will talk to them and help them perceive their entire academic experience with the value of their careers in mind,” Shavel said.
4. Blue to Gold Money Management Center: A team of dedicated money coaches was hired to serve the new Blue to Gold Money Management Center. The coaches help students with various financial issues related to college life and beyond, including:
- understanding the financial implications of switching majors
- deciphering tuition and fees
- managing financial aid money
- ensuring students have sufficient financial resources to persist through graduation
- budgeting and saving money
- establishing healthy relationships with money
Wrap-around services for student success
The four initiatives discussed above are meant to converge in a wrap-around model of student care designed to envelop students in supportive resources even before they request them. Staff will reach out to students earlier and more often to help them acquire the tools they need to succeed.
“We’re creating that structure around helping students, and that’s why they’re called wrap-around services,” Shavel said. “Particularly with first-year, first-time students, there is a need for that extra level of support. Transitioning from high school into the university setting can be challenging,” she said.
The big goal: retention through to graduation
The overarching goal for the university’s Title III program is to boost the four-year retention rate by 9% over the next five years. In higher education, “retention rate” refers to the number of first-time undergraduate students who return to the same institution the following fall.
Student retention is a concern at universities statewide. Based on 2019 data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, only 41.5% of first-time, full-time university students in Texas who remain at the same institution graduate within four years. A&M-Commerce sits slightly below the state average at around 31%.
Drs. Ricky Dobbs, senior vice provost, and Brent Donham, vice president for Research and Academic Development, who were instrumental in helping secure the grant for A&M-Commerce, are confident that the funds will positively affect student retention.
“This grant is aimed at addressing longstanding gaps in student support,” Dobbs said. “These are known areas of challenge where the right types of support could help with retention and, ultimately, graduation.”
“The Title III grant will go a long way in our mission to transform lives,” Donham added.
Chamber Connection – August 14, 2024
By Butch Burney
Wind energy will be the topic for the Chamber’s Lunch and Learn on Sept. 11, featuring Apex Clean Energy. The energy company is anticipating investing in wind turbines in the western part of Hopkins County.
The Lunch and Learn will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at The Grays Building in Pacific Park. Those in attendance will get a meal and information on the project, as well as the opportunity to ask questions.
To RSVP for the free event, message [email protected] or call 903-885-6515.
Stew Time!
We are looking forward to a fantastic 55th Annual Hopkins County Stew Contest on Oct. 26, and it’s time for stew cooks to start registering.
Registration for last year’s cooks have been sent, and new and returning cooks can also register online at HopkinsChamber.org/stewcooks.
We are keeping the registration fee the same as in past years at $100 per stew site, with the sponsor asked to provide $150 to each cooking team for ingredients.
If you have been a Stew Cook in the past, we look forward to seeing you again and tasting your delicious stew. If you have won the contest in the past, you are eligible to enter the Super Stew competition.
Each returning stew team will have the option of keeping their 2023 site. These sites will be reserved until Monday, September 30, and then on Tuesday, October 1, the “unclaimed” stew sites will be open to “new cooks” and to returning cooks who would like a new site location. After Sept. 30, all sites will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. As in 2023, we will have sites open on both the north and the south side of Connally Street, where we will have a serving tent and market vendors.
New Cooks
We will have a Stewcomers meeting at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15 for any new cooks or those who are thinking about entering. You can get all the information you need to start planning for the largest annual single-day event in Hopkins County.
If you need more information, call the Chamber at 903-885-6515 or email [email protected].
The theme for this year’s stew contest is Stewper Heroes, and we would love for you to participate and be a Stewper Hero!
Cocktails and Conversation
Join us for our main networking monthly event when Beauty Grace Lifestyle Shop hosts our Cocktails and Conversation on Thursday, Sept. 5, at the store on Connally Street.
You don’t have to be a Chamber member to attend. It is free to everyone, and a prime time to make friends and contacts.
Please make plans to attend to enjoy some cocktails, snacks and great conversation.
New Team
Sulphur Springs Health and Rehabilitation will host a family-friendly meet and greet to meet their new team and tour the facility, from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29.
Enjoy pulled pork sliders, cocktail sausages and fruit while you visit with the staff.
SS Health and Rehab is located at 411 Airport Road. Call 903-885-7668 for more information.
Main Street Theatre
Main Street Theatre presents Hallelujah Girls, a southern comedy about a group of feisty females who decide to shake up their lives.
Show times are Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 18 at 2 p.m., as well as Friday and Saturday, Aug. 23-24 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 25, at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at onthestage.tickets.
Quilt Show
The Lone Star Heritage Quilt Show is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21 at the ROC on Putman Street. Numerous projects will be on display, and one special quilt will be up for raffle during the event.
If you’re interested in entering your own quilt project, those arrangements must be made by July 31. To request entry, email [email protected].
Ribbon Cuttings
Fastenal will host a ribbon cutting at noon on Monday, Aug. 26, at their facility at 1180 Highway 19 South. Everyone is invited to this event.
Designated Emergency Infant Care Provider – Baby Moses Law
What is the “Baby Moses Law?”
The “Baby Moses Law” is the common name of a law authorizing a designated emergency infant care provider to take possession of a child appearing to be 60-days-old or younger from the child’s parent, if the parent does not express intent to return for the child. You can find this law in the Texas Family Code, Chapter 262, Subchapter D. Emergency Possession of Certain Abandoned Children.
This law encourages parents who abandon their children to do so with a designated emergency infant care provider rather than at a dangerous location. The law also protects parents from criminal prosecution when they deliver an unharmed child to a designated emergency infant care provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the law work?
Any parent may voluntarily deliver a child 60 days old or younger to a designated emergency infant care provider when the parent does not express intent to return for the child.
What is a designated emergency infant care provider?
A child-placing agency licensed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission can be a designated emergency infant care provider if the CPA:
- Agrees to act as a designated emergency infant care provider; and
- Has on staff a person who is licensed as a registered nurse under Chapter 301, Occupations Code, or who provides emergency medical services under Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code, and who will examine and provide emergency medical services to a child taken into possession by the agency.
What are the responsibilities of a designated CPA emergency infant care provider?
A designated CPA emergency infant care provider must:
- Post a notice in a prominent location that:
- The CPA is a designated emergency infant care provider; and
- It will accept children 60-days-old or younger who are voluntarily delivered by the child’s parent, if the parent does not express an intent to return for the child.
- Use prudent judgment to protect the physical health and safety of the child until DFPS takes possession of the child.
- Assess the child for injury or illness.
- Immediately contact your registered nurse or person who provides emergency medical services to evaluate the medical needs of the child.
- Follow through with recommendations for medical treatment.
- Notify DFPS of the possession of the child no later than the close of the first business day after the date the provider takes possession of the child.
- Provide the child’s medical history or any other pertinent information to DFPS.
What do the responsibilities of a designated CPA emergency infant care provider not include?
A designated CPA emergency infant care provider has no legal duty to:
- Detain or pursue the parent and may not do so unless the child appears to have been abused or neglected.
- Determine the parent’s identity. However, the provider may give the parent a form for voluntary disclosure of the child’s medical facts and history.
As the School Year Starts, CBP Intercepts More Fake IDs
August 15,2024 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have discovered counterfeit driver’s licenses inside inbound packages moving through the International Mail Facility at O’Hare International Airport. During routine examinations of packages, officers focused enforcement efforts on counterfeit documents produced outside the United States that were potentially going to be used to fake an identity of young adults that have not yet reached the age of 21.
Counterfeit documents are fake documents that have the appearance of legal documentation but are not issued by a legitimate organization or government agency and are not recognized in the United States as official travel or identification instruments. Counterfeit documents, such as these driver’s licenses, can be used as a means for college students who have not yet turned the age of 21, to enter a bar or business that sells and serves alcohol. Unfortunately, these students put themselves at great risk when purchasing these fake documents.
“Counterfeit driver’s licenses are used by young adults who have not yet reached the legal drinking age,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations, Chicago Field Office. “Not to mention the criminal consequences, CBP’s interception of these IDs significantly reduces the chances for alcohol to be purchased by underage individuals and hopefully reduces the consequences of their actions, including deadly accidents.”
Since the beginning of August, Chicago CBP officers have seized 40 shipments containing 1,020 counterfeit United States driver’s licenses from all over the U.S. Only two companies have authorization by the U.S. Department of State to print international driver’s licenses in the United States: The American Automobile Association (AAA) or American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA). The IDs were deemed counterfeit based upon the lack of fine line detail, and exhibit features that are not consistent with the document type.
According to Sutton-Burke, the reasoning for buying fake IDs has evolved from teenagers trying to get into bars to more nefarious activity. “Some of the major concerns as they relate to fraudulent identity documents include identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize their scrutiny undergoing travel screening measures.”
CBP officers coordinate identification findings with CBP’s Fraudulent Document Analysis Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, and other federal partners to combat any illicit activity. Visit CBP’s YouTube channel to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.
CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, counterfeit goods, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.
Stewcomers Meeting This Thursday
August 14, 2024 – Fear not, Stewcomers! If this is your first year to sign up as a cook for the Hopkins County Stew Festival, we will have a meeting just for you this Thursday, August 15th, here at the Chamber at 5:30pm.
We will go over everything you need to know as a first time cook to ensure your experience is wonderful!
As for all you excited Stew Fest attendees, we’re pleased to announce ticket sales begin the same day!
See you soon, stew lovers…
Chamber address: 110 Main Street, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
The annual World Champion Hopkins County Stew Contest will take place Saturday October 26, 2024 here in Sulphur Springs.
Texas Leads the Way Against Noncitizen Voting
August 14, 2024 – AUSTIN — Ahead of the November 2024 Election, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson reminds Texans of measures the state takes to stop noncitizen voting.
“The State of Texas uses safeguards and checks against noncitizen voting, which is illegal under state law” said Secretary Nelson.
State and federal laws prohibit noncitizens from registering and voting in any Texas election. When registering to vote, Texans must attest to being a U.S. citizen. Providing false information on a voter registration form subjects applicants to criminal penalties, including jail time and a fine. It is a second-degree felony for a noncitizen to vote in Texas, under House Bill 1243 which Governor Greg Abbott signed into law last year.
In 2021, Governor Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which created additional election integrity measures including ongoing citizenship checks of Texas voter rolls and ID requirements for mail-in ballots. The law also increased penalties for false statements on a voter registration application.
The Secretary of State’s Office regularly obtains data from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) on noncitizens and compares it to the statewide voter registration database. The Secretary’s Office also receives information from Texas courts about people who have been excused or disqualified from jury duty because of noncitizenship. The Secretary of State uses this data to identify potential noncitizens and sends these records to county voter registrars to investigate the voter’s eligibility. Those who are determined to be ineligible or who fail to respond within the allotted time are removed from the voter roll. In the last three years since SB 1 was signed into law, thousands of noncitizens have been removed from the voter roll.
County voter registrars are also required to review their voter registration records and send notices to any voter who the registrar reasonably believes is not eligible for registration, including due to noncitizenship. Any Texan can challenge a voter’s registration due to lack of U.S. citizenship by filing a sworn statement with the county registrar. A challenge results in a hearing and cancellation of the voter’s registration if the voter cannot produce adequate proof of citizenship. If a registrar determines that a person on the voter rolls, including a noncitizen, is ineligible to vote, they must report it to the Attorney General and the Secretary of State within 72 hours.
Governor Abbott also signed Senate Bill 1113 into law in 2021, which allows the Secretary to withhold funds from counties that fail to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. Secretary Nelson said that her office “monitors each voter registrar’s list maintenance activity on an ongoing basis for compliance with their voter registration cancellation duties.”
In June, Secretary Nelson sent two advisories reminding county election officials about their obligation to update voter registration rolls, including acting on information related to noncitizen registration. “Voting is a sacred right that must be preserved for citizens who qualify under our elections laws,” said Secretary Nelson. “My responsibility is to ensure free and fair elections and that only qualified voters participate.”
