RE: HB2093, HB2372 and HB2848 April 16, 2013 Dear Members of the Texas House Elections Committee:

The recent hearing for a number of bills related to elections in Texas (HB2093, HB2372 and HB2848) has initiated a lively public debate in our great state. It has come to our attention that various groups publicly criticized these aforementioned bills in a letter sent to your offices last week and simultaneously promoted widely online. The principle signer and ostensibly the author of the letter submitted to the Committee, Amy Busefink, was convicted of fraud in Nevada, where she was charged with 14 felony counts for illegal voter registration practices in her capacity as a supervisor with ACORN in 2008. We ask that the Committee consider the possible motivations for her lobbying against such common sense process improvements while also bearing in mind her well documented involvement in efforts to undermine election integrity. Even still, given the critical nature of these pieces of legislation and the potential impact on voters faith and rights in Texas elections, we feel it necessary to directly rebut the letter sent to you by Ms. Busefink and the collective of thirteen organizations she represents. While it is encouraging to see interest in Texas election code during a period when attention typically wanes, it is also critical to maintain an honest level of debate. HB2093 We fully expect that Texas voters will continue to take advantage of having more than a single day to cast their ballot. HB2093 in no way was developed to engineer a reversal of that trend. The bill would, however, address a growing issue with respect to staffing polling locations for the duration which directly affected wait times in various localities. Prior to the 2012 early voting period, a number of county clerks made distressed calls to citizen groups for last-minute volunteers to work in the polls. Such a shortage of manpower is likely caused by the requirement that a judge or clerk work the duration of the early voting period which seriously limits the pool of potential talent available. Had this body considered this legislation further, county governments could have used budgetary savings to consider opening more locations or better incentives for recruitment. As HB2093 is pulled for further study, we encourage you to focus on the financial and logistical options given to local election administrators which would have a direct, positive correlation to the voters convenience in casting their franchise. HB2372 Criticism leveled against HB2372 demonstrates a startling and regressive rejection of common technological methods to be utilized in compliance with Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Federal law requires that election officials remove dead, duplicate and otherwise ineligible voters from the rolls. This bill takes an affirmative step to ensure that duplicate voter registrations are addressed across state lines. Recent Pew analysis found that an estimated 2.75 million Americans are registered in more than one state. Given Texas current population influx, that number could certainly grow, adding to voters anxiety about election integrity. Further, criticizing this legislation by claiming limited knowledge of which states will share our data is purely an act of willful ignorance. As of now, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,

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Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia among others compare voter rolls directly to update registrations. Finally, it is intellectually dishonest to claim voter database matching is an ultimately failed practice, especially in Texas. HB2372 allows for direct comparison between state voter records, not partial data sets from various indexes developed for differing purposes. HB2848 The final bill of discussion, HB2848, is the least controversial of these. Allowing counties to place video monitoring assets offers a wide variety of advantages. Voters would have the ability to stream video of early voting locations to determine which site has the shortest wait. Election administrators and law enforcement would have an official tool to investigate allegations of loitering and electioneering beyond designated areas (TEC 61.003), bringing allegations into the court of law rather than the news media1. Further, such cameras could serve to highlight potential violations of Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). To argue that HB2848 would violate the Department of Justices interpretation of the VRA is sloppy revisionism at best. The DOJ did indeed announce prior to the 1998 Election that private parties were not allowed to videotape voters at polling locations. The Department is silent, however, on the question of official use videography. In closing, criticisms against these bills are alarmingly regressive reactions to steps that improve election integrity for all. Voter participation rises with voter confidence. These bills are commonsense proposals which embrace well-established technologies. We look forward to further discussion on these and other bills as the Session continues. Thank you for your attention on these matters.

Sincerely, Catherine Engelbrecht True the Vote

KRIV-TV FOX Houston; Voter mischief top of mind for some Harris County voters (http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/20009127/2012/11/05/voter-mischief-top-of-mind-for-some-harris-countyvoters) Additional coverage: http://youtu.be/0uicCfrkXAM

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