Outraged far-right commenters online believe a viral video of election workers being trained in Dallas, Texas, shows broad voter fraud — but county officials explained it shows nothing of the sort.
The video of training at the Dallas County Elections Department, which has gone viral on social media, shows a training session from Aug. 24. Officials explain to election workers how to handle people experiencing homelessness who seek to register to vote, but who don't have a home address to enter on the form.
"BREAKING: Dallas County Texas Tell Election Workers To ILLEGALY LIE ON REGISTRATION & USE A CHURCH ADDRESS TO REGISTER HOMELESS PEOPLE TO VOTE!" posted John Basham, a right-wing commentator who has appeared on Sean Hannity's show and with the far-right Epoch Times.
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There's nothing illegal about the act, the Dallas County Elections Department clarified in a statement Tuesday.
Indeed, Section 13.002 of the Texas Election Code outlines that this is the correct procedure for homeless people to register to vote, putting down "the address at which the applicant receives mail and a concise description of the location of the applicant’s residence."
"State law is very clear: having a home is not a requirement to be eligible to register to vote, and voters can use an address other than their residential address as a mailing address," said the statement, issued by County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia. "Dallas County Elections wants to make this very clear: U.S. Citizens eligible to vote under federal and state law will be allowed to register to vote, whether they are unhoused or not."
"In Dallas County, all voters will be treated equally," the statement continued. "Misinformation, like the claims made by some individuals sharing this video, creates unnecessary confusion and undermines trust in our electoral system."
This comes as state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has pursued heavy-handed efforts to suppress the vote, searching the homes of Latino election volunteers to investigate ballot harvesting, and threatening to sue large Democratic-leaning counties over plans to mail registration forms to voters.
