Complaint Filed Against Karl Rove For Voting Fraud

NEW COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST KARL ROVE WITH KERR COUNTY, TX DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO INVESTIGATE ILLEGAL VOTER REGISTRATION
Texas Officials State That Previous Complaint Filed by CREW Lacked Standing

http://citizensforethics.org/press/n...se.php?view=85

10/6/2005

Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) announced that Frances Lovett, a registered voter in Kerr County, Texas, sent a complaint this week to Kerr County District Attorney, E. Bruce Curry, urging an investigation into whether Karl Rove, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bush, violated Texas state law by illegally registering as a voter in Kerr County, despite never residing there.

CREW had filed a complaint regarding this matter with the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State’s office on September 6, 2005. On September 8th, however, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported that the Texas Secretary of State’s office does not have jurisdiction over this matter and that it must be investigated by county officials. They also said that CREW does not have jurisdiction to file a complaint, only a Kerr County registered voter can file such a complaint.

“I have lived in Kerr County for the past 15 years and have never even heard that Mr. Rove or his wife lived in the area,” Frances Lovett said today. “Reading about Mr. Rove’s illegal voter registration in the paper, and knowing that a complaint could not be filed unless a Kerr County resident took action, I resolved to take this next step and send a letter to District Attorney E. Bruce Curry.”

According to a report in The Washington Post on September 7, 2005, Mr. Rove and his wife, Darby, registered to vote in Kerr County in 2003 after they sold their Austin, Texas home. County property records show that Mr. Rove and his wife have owned two tiny rental cottages in Kerr County since 1997, the largest of which is only 814 feet and is valued by the county at $25,000. In contrast, the Roves’ Washington, D.C. home is valued at over $1.1 million. Other local Kerr County residents have stated that they have never seen Mr. Rove in the area.

Texas law requires that a “qualified voter” be a resident of Texas and the county in which the application for voter registration is made.

“Mr. Rove needs to be held accountable for his actions,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW said today. “Ms. Lovett is a brave woman and we applaud her for standing up for what’s right.”

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For more information, or to view the letter, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman at 202.588.5565/press@citizensforethics.org.