FORNEY, Texas — Yesterday, Representative Keith Bell (R-Forney) filed House Bill 1264, an "election integrity" bill which would require timelier filing of death certificates to remove deceased individuals from the voter rolls.
"Currently, there is a delay in the reporting of deaths to the Texas Secretary of State, giving individuals the opportunity to cast fraudulent votes for those who are deceased," read a press release from Bell's office earlier today. "This opportunity should not exist."
House Bill 1264 calls for the immediate removal of a registered voter from the certified voter roll after their death certificate is submitted.
"With recent concerns related to the integrity of our elections, it's our responsibility to make sure the democratic process of our elections is held to the highest standard. Now, more than ever, it is vital that we defend the election process and ensure the accuracy of the results," Bell stated.
"In light of the election integrity concerns from the recent election, we must ensure that our voting rolls are certified and verified so that duplicate votes and other forms of fraud cannot occur," read the release. "Election fraud has no place in the United States and certainly no place in Texas."
The Election Code currently allows the local registrar of deaths to file each abstract with the voter registrar of the decedent's county of residency and the Secretary of State no later than the 10th day of the month following the month in which the abstract is prepared.
Bell's amendment calls for the local registrar to file the abstract "as soon as possible, but not later than one day after the abstract is prepared."
