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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Dallas Woman Sees Dead Voters

DALLAS (CN) - Two weeks after Texas settled a lawsuit for removing from voting rolls citizens the state called "potentially dead," a woman has gone to court to demand that Dallas County remove nine "unquestionably dead" people from its rolls.

Mary Bosworth sued nine allegedly dead voters in Dallas County Court.

Her pro se petition demands "review of voter registrar's refusal to cancel deceased voters' registration."

Bosworth claims Dallas County Voter Registrar Toni Poole refuses to cancel the dead defendants' voter registrations.

Bosworth says she challenged the registration of about 195 dead people in August. She claims Poole sustained five of her challenges but denied the remaining 190 in September.

Bosworth claims that a valid voter card will be mailed to each dead defendant.

"Because Texas does not have a voter ID statute currently in effect, anybody who receives a defendant's facially valid voter card will be able to cast a vote in that dead person's name thereby unlawfully diluting lawfully registered voters' votes," the complaint states.

Bosworth claims Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade recently indicated there may be 9,000 dead people in Dallas County with valid voter registrations.

On Oct. 4, Andrade settled a lawsuit in Travis County Court, filed by four voters who received notices from voting registrars that said "they were 'potentially deceased' and that their voter registration was subject to 'cancellation'" unless they provided proof they were alive within 30 days.

Those voters claimed, "the secretary has adopted a rule in which she has determined who is dead or potentially dead. The rule has two prongs, 'Strong Matches' and 'Weak Matches.' Thousands of Texans who are alive and kicking have been classified as potentially dead by the secretary under the Weak Match category."

Under the settlement, Andrade's office told county voting officials that they "are expected to conduct an independent review of 'weak' matches to determine whether a voter is appropriately on the voter rolls."

This shifts the burden of proof from the voter to county voter registrars.

Bosworth seeks judicial review and cancellation of each of the dead defendant's voter registration.

Follow @davejourno
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