Our Visit With Election Administrator Roger Ortiz

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We stopped in to visit with Election Administrator Roger Ortiz Monday morning.  We shared with him Section 84.04 of the Election Code dealing with witnessing a mail-in ballot.  During our conversation, he called the legal department of the Secretary of State, putting the representative on speaker phone so she could hear us.

We showed Mr. Ortiz the anomaly with three candidates having nearly the EXACT same number of mail-in votes.  We asked him about the story reported in the "El Rrun Rrun" blog about 10 mail-in ballots disqualified, but only one person called in time to vote the next day at their precinct.  Politiqueras, voter fraud and stolen elections.  Mr. Ortiz' comments late this afternoon when we return home. 

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OK.  We're home.  Mr. Ortiz met us at the front of the Election's Office, inviting us to his desk in the back.  

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  Thank you for seeing us.  Do you remember being interviewed in a  story about politiqueras by a lady from the San Antonio Express-News?  It was published May 25.  (Mr. Ortiz looks a little quizzical, at first, then remembers.)

Mr. Ortiz:  Yes.  It wasn't a sit down interview.  She called us on the telephone.

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  Well, you were quoted in the article.  May I read you the quote?  "If there's anything happening, it's happening in someone's home, or a nursing home. . . . and there's no way we can police that.   We don't have the authority, we don't have the personel or the budget, the funds to do something like that.  And first of all, it would have to be in the code for us to do anything like that."  Do you recall making those statements?

Mr. Ortiz:  Yes, pretty much.  I recall saying something similar to that.

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  I think there may be a provision in the code that could help.   Let me read it to you.  Section 84.004.  UNLAWFULLY WITNESSING APPLICATION FOR MORE THAN ONE APPLICANT.  (a)  A person commits an offense if, in the same election, the person signs an early voting application for more than one applicant.

      (b)  It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a) that the person signed early voting ballot applications for more than one applicant:

                (1)  as an early voting clerk; or

                (2)  and the person is related to the additional applicants as a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or sibling.

         (c)  A violation  of this section does not affect the validity of an application involved in the offense.

         (d)  Each application signed by the witness in violation of this section constitutes a separate offense.

         (e)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor

So, my question is:  Doesn't this part of the code give you the authority to reject mail-in ballots where one individual, like a politiquera, for example, has witnessed more than one mail-in ballot?

Mr. Ortiz:  I believe that part of the election code applies in the case of where an individual cannot write his or her name and a person is witnessing the signature.  There is a difference between being a witness and assisting on a ballot.  Most of the mail-in votes are assisted ballots, not witnessed ballots.  Let me find that in the code.  (Mr. Ortiz begins leaving through the huge volume that is the election code.

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  While Mr. Ortiz is looking through the code, I locate the specific directions about witnessing a ballot in "Sec. 1.011.  SIGNING DOCUMENT BY WITNESS.  (a)  When this code requires a person to sign an application, report, or other document or paper, except as otherwise provided by this code, the document of paper may be signed for the person by a witness, as provided by this section, if the person required to sign cannot do so because of a physical disability or illiteracy."   Isn't this the separate treatment of a witness that you were looking for?  I guess the Secretary of State would know.  (At this point Mr. Ortiz decides to call the Secretary of State.  He asks for the Legal Department, then puts the representative on the speaker phone.

Mr. Ortiz:  (Speaking to the rep from the Legal Department at the Secretary of State's office)  Ma'am, we're trying to locate the part of the election code dealing with an assisted ballot, not a witnessed ballot.  I guess our question is:  Is there any limit on the number of times a person can assist on a ballot?

Legal:  No.   There is no limit on assisting on ballots.  There is a limit of one on witnessing ballots with certain exceptions.  She started looking for that and after several minutes, I shared the location in the code as it was in front of me.

Mr. Ortiz:  There was a bill in the legislature two years ago to limit assisting on ballots, but that measure did not pass.

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  Well, you understand the concern surrounding these assisted ballots?  There have been elections, for example, the 2010 County Commissioner's race where assisted mail-in ballots swung the election.  Let me ask you this.  Did you see the statistical anomaly that occurred in this year's primary regarding mail-in ballots?

Mr. Ortiz:  No, I did not.

At this point, I pulled out my copy of the Cameron County Democratic Primary results,  turning it around so Mr. Ortiz could see it.  I had highlighted in yellow Carlos Masso's, Omar Lucio's and Abelardo Gomez's mail-in votes.  Here is that document:

Cameron County Democratic Primary~5/29/12

Name                                   Total Votes                %                           Mail-in Votes

                                                         COUNTY ATTORNEY

Carlos R. Masso                     8,072                        35.86                      192

Luis V. Saenz                          7,766                        34.50                        47

Maria Urbina De Ford             6,672                        29.64                        33

                                                               SHERIFF

Joe Cisneros                            6,107                        26.02                        55

Terry Vinson                            3,268                        13.92                        25

Omar Lucio                           14,096                         60.06                      191

                                                    CONSTABLE, PRECINCT 2

Juan S. Torres                         2,348                         27.45                        13

Roel Arreola                               893                            8.54                        7

Pete Avila, Jr.                          3,952                         37.78                        27

Abelardo "Abel" Gomez, Jr.     3,267                         31.23                      191