The Texas secretary of state’s office has sent 443 allegations of voter fraud to the state attorney general’s office for investigation since 2002. Just don’t ask about them. To the dismay of some state lawmakers, the secretary of state’s office will not release what one Democratic senator called “basic information” on allegations of voter fraud. Just down the road, however, the Attorney General’s office makes much of the information public. Now, an Austin lawmaker has filed a bill to require the secretary of state’s office to divulge additional information about voter fraud allegations. “The idea that you can’t tell the public the number of complaints requires some really contorted logic,” Sen. Kirk Watson said.
A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said the attorney general’s office can exercise “prosecutorial discretion” when it comes to deciding what information should be made available to the public.
The secretary of state’s office, however, relies on a provision of the Texas Election Code that says such allegations are not public information unless the office decides a complaint does not warrant an investigation or the investigation by the attorney general has been completed, spokesman Sam Taylor said.
Full Article: Bill would make voter fraud claims public information – San Antonio Express-News.