American rappers Chris Brown, Drake, 50 Cent, Trey Songz and The Game were all registered to vote under the same suburban address in Katy, Texas, sparking discussions about a significant gap in federal voting laws, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The address in question is a modest $300,000 beige home located in a new development in Katy, a city with a population of 21,894 according to the 2020 census. The homeowner expressed surprise and confusion upon discovering the names of high profile registered at their address.
According to the news outlet, this is the result of a prank that took advantage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, which allows people to register to vote using only their legal name and date of birth, without being asked an identity document.
HAVA was signed into law by President George W. Bush more than two decades ago, on October 29, 2002. The joke inadvertently shed light on the potential for abuse inherent in the system.
According to Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Program, the provision allowing people to register without an ID was inserted into the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 for eligible voters who do not have the driver’s license or a social security number. at the Brennan Center for Justice.
“There’s not a large group of people in the country who are eligible to vote who don’t have any of these things, but there are some people,” Morales-Doyle said. This may include U.S. citizens born outside the United States who have never applied for a Social Security number.
The same federal law also prevents an applicant who has submitted a false registration from taking advantage of it.
“The first time they went to vote, they had to show something, like a utility bill showing that Drake pays bills at that address,” Morales-Doyle said. “And they wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Election officials also root out false registrations by performing routine voter roll maintenance, such as sending mailers to the listed address and removing the registration if the voter does not vote in two federal cycles or does not respond to the confirmation notice.
Although the performers did not vote in the last election, and therefore posed no immediate threat of voter fraud, the incident raised questions about how easily voter registrations can be manipulated. In Texas, a state that requires approved ID to vote, such a prank is especially unnecessary and risky.
Randall Erben, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin with a background as an assistant secretary of state in Texas, emphasizes the gravity of the issue.
“These people are committing serious misdemeanors or crimes,” Erben warned anyone who registered these celebrities to vote. “This is not a joke.”
Mark Songer, a former FBI agent and forensic document examiner, confirmed that “all five voter registration application forms most likely share a common author,” suggesting a deliberate and fraudulent attempt.
According to the Houston Chronicle:
Submitting a false or forged voter application form is a third-degree felony, according to Erben, and unlawfully acting as someone’s agent is a class B misdemeanor.
Voter registration applications are also public documents, which triggers other criminal penalties for forgery and misrepresentations on such documents. Making a false statement on an application is a class A misdemeanor.
Under the Texas Penal Code, Class A felonies are punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $4,000. Class B misdemeanors are punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Third-degree crimes are punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
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