Jim,
Some have asked that you post the PDF letter I sent to you. I've
attached it in Microsoft Word format and pasted it below in Text. I
hope that you will post it for your readers to view.
Thank you,
Art Martinez de Vara
April 30, 2012
Steve Munisteri
State Chairman
Republican Party of Texas
1108 Lavaca, Suite 500
Austin, Texas 78701
Re: Challenge of eligibility of Jessica Puente Bradshaw, candidate
for U.S. Congress, District 34 of Texas.
Chairman Steve Munisteri,
Jessica Puente Bradshaw is a declared Republican candidate for U.S.
Congress in the 34th District of Texas. Upon review of Ms. Puente
Bradshaw’s application for place on the ballot and her attached
petition with signatures, I believe them both to be non-compliant with
the Texas Election Code and thus rendering her ineligible to be placed
on the May 2012 primary ballot. I do so for the following reasons.
INSUFFICIENT NUMBER OF VALID SIGNATURES
As you are well aware, candidates for U.S. Congress must file an
application for place on the primary ballot and either pay a
designated filing fee or submit a petition with no less than 500 valid
signatures. See TEX. ELEC. CODE §172.021. Ms. Puente Bradshaw opted
to file an application with petition and attached 63 pages, containing
567 signatures. (See Exhibit 2, page numbers have been added to the
back of these for internal reference) The petition which Ms. Puente
Bradshaw filed fails to comply with Texas election law for the
following reasons.
FAULIRE TO PROVIDE REQUIRED INFORMATION IN
TEX.
ELEC. CODE §172.027 STATEMENT
All but nine signatures should be declared invalid for failure to
provide the statutorily required information on each page of the
petition. Four pages, containing 29 signatures, omit all statutorily
required information. (Pages 1, 15, 45, 61 and 62). 58 pages,
containing 529 signatures omit the district number. (Pages 2-14,
16-44, 46-60, 62).
TEX.
ELEC. CODE §172.027 states that all petitions must include the
following statement:
"I know that the purpose of this petition is to entitle (insert
candidate's name) to have his or her name placed on the ballot for the
office of (insert office title, including any place number or other
distinguishing number) for the (insert political party's name) primary
election. I understand that by signing this petition I become
ineligible to vote in a primary election or participate in a
convention of another party, including a party not holding a primary
election, during the voting year in which this primary election is
held."
TEX. ELEC. CODE §141.063(a)(4) states that a signature on a petition
is invalid unless ‘each statement that is required by this code . . .
appears, at the time of signing, on the page on which the signature is
entered.’
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in IN RE FRANCIS, 186 S.W.3d 534, (2006)
that failure to provide the place or district number on a petition as
required by TEX. ELEC. CODE §172.027 renders all signatures on a page
with the omission invalid. “We agree that the omission of any
statutorily required information on a petition renders signatures on
that petition invalid.” The Court further noted that, “Section
172.027 of the Election Code says that a candidate’s place or
distinguishing number ‘must appear at the top of each page of a
petition.’
[TEX. ELEC. CODE] Section 141.063(a)(4) says that a
signature on a petition is invalid unless ‘each statement that is
required by this code . . . appears, at the time of signing, on the
page on which the signature is entered.’ As the Code requires a place
number on each page, and declares invalid any signatures on pages
without it, the trial court correctly concluded that all … signatures
from the district involved in this challenge are invalid.”
While the above omissions are sufficient to disqualify Ms. Puente
Bradshaw for failure to provide 500 or more valid signatures, the
following additional errors will be noted.
FAULIRE TO COMPLETE AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR REQUIRED BY
TEX. ELEC. CODE §141.065
TEX. ELEC. CODE §141.065 states that all petitions must include a
completed Affidavit of Circulator. Ms. Puente Bradshaw filed 58
pages, containing 523 signatures, in which the Affidavit of Circulator
omits the name of the person signing the affidavit, date of signing
and county of signing. (Pages 1-12, 17-63) This is statutorily
required information and each signature on these pages must be ruled
invalid pursuant to TEX. ELEC. CODE §141.063(a)(4). See also IN RE
FRANCIS, 186 S.W.3d 534, (2006)
INVALID SIGNATURES DUE TO FACIAL NON-COMPLIANCE WITH VARIOUS STATUTORY
REQUIREMENTS
95 signatures are invalid due to facial non-compliance with various
statutory requirements. These are listed in detail in Exhibit 3, but
summarized here:
o 13 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(B) because they lack both Voter ID numbers and dates of
birth.
o 10 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(2)(B) because no county information is listed whatsoever,
nor was any distinguishing mark, such as a quotation mark, used by
which a county name could be ascertained.
o 52 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(2)(C) because they have incomplete, missing or invalid
date of signing and no other information exists on the page from which
to ascertain a date. Even the notary blocks lack dates.
o 1 “signature” is invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(b) because it lacks a signature.
o 5 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(1) because voters live outside of the district.
o 12 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(2)(A) because no street address is listed, nor was any
distinguishing mark, such as a quotation mark, used by which an
address could be ascertained.
o 2 signatures are invalid due to non-compliance with TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.063(a)(2)(D) because the signers printed name contains only one
word and is incomplete, nor was any distinguishing mark, such as a
quotation mark, used by which a name could be ascertained.
FAILURE TO DISCLOSE LEGAL NAME ON
APPLICATION FOR PLACE ON THE BALLOT
Ms. Puente Bradshaw filed an “Application for a Place on the
Republican Party Primary Ballot” dated March 6, 2012. (See Exhibit
1). TEX. ELEC. CODE §141.031(a)(4)(A) requires a candidate to print
their name on an application for a place on the ballot. Ms. Puente
Bradshaw failed to do so on her application. Jessica Puente
Bradshaw’s legal name is Jessica Robinson. Ms. Robinson has been
registered to vote in Cameron County, Texas since January 1, 2012 at
44 Calle Duquesa, Brownsville, TX 78520. She is registered to vote
under her legal name “Jessica Robinson.” In fact, Ms. Robinson signed
her own petition using her legal name “Jessica Robinson,” on page 19,
line 6 of the attached petition. Jessica Robinson is also registered
to vote in Travis County with Voter ID number 1131347027, under the
same address, 12500 Uvalde Creek Dr. Austin, TX 78732, that she used
when filing her Federal Elections Commission Statement of Candidacy on
April, 20, 2012. (See Exhibit 4). Jessica Robinson also maintains a
Texas Driver’s License (number XXXXXX414) and a Texas Real Estate
License (number 590355), both under the name Jessica Robinson and both
at her Austin address.
The application for a place on the ballot which Ms. Robinson submitted
does not contain her name anywhere on the application. The
application clearly provides two distinct places for legal “name” and
“name as you want it to appear on the ballot.” It also provides an
affidavit stating that if the applicant wishes to use a nickname,
which is a name other than their legal name, that they have been
commonly known by that nickname for at least three years. We are not
contesting whether Ms. Robinson has or has not been commonly known as
“Jessica Puente Bradshaw” for three years, but her failure to report
her legal name in the application as required by TEX. ELEC. CODE
§141.031(a)(4)(A).
CONCLUSION
As has been shown above, Ms. Puente Bradshaw’s application for place
on the primary ballot and the attached petition do not comply with
statutory requirements.
I pray you to give this matter your urgent
attention and to declare Jessica Puente Bradshaw ineligible for the
May 29, 2012 Republican Primary Election for Congressional District
34.
Sincerely,
/s/Arturo I. Martinez de Vara
Attorney for Adela Garza for Congress Campaign
The Martinez de Vara Law Firm, PLLC
PO Box 377
Von Ormy, TX 78073
Attachments
--
Art Martinez de Vara
Attorney and Counselor at Law
The Martinez de Vara Law Firm,
PLLC
PO Box 377
Von Ormy, Texas 78073
Ph: 210/857-6848
Web: www.mdv-law.com
Email: art@mdv-law.com
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