Oops.
Bruce Fleming
After the Fort Bend Star received a tip about the Republican candidate for Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner, the Star conducted an in-depth review of Bruce Fleming and his wife, Nancy Fleming’s voting record. Our research found that for several years Fleming voted both in Bucks County, Pa. and in Fort Bend County.
Although Fleming claims to be a 20-year resident of Texas, he first registered to vote in Bucks County, Pa. in 1992 and still owns a home there. He is listed as an active voter Bucks County.
Fleming first voted in Fort Bend County in the general election of 2006. He voted early in Fort Bend then voted absentee in Bucks County, Pa. in the same general election.
In 2008 he voted absentee in the general election in Bucks, County, Pa but in Fort Bend County he voted in person in the Democratic Primary and again in the 4/8/2008 primary run off. He also voted early in the November general election in Fort Bend.
In 2010 he voted absentee in the general election in Bucks County and in Fort Bend County he voted early in both the primary and the general election. Fleming voted in person in the 2010 primary in Fort Bend County and voted early in the primary run off.
The Star has been unable to get the primary voting records in Bucks County for 2012, but those records should be available next week.
According to Fleming, his wife, Nancy, is seldom seen in Fort Bend as she stays in their home in Pennsylvania in order to keep her job there. She usually votes in every general election in Pennsylvania. 2010 records indicate she voted in the general election in both Bucks County (absentee) and the general election in Fort Bend (also absentee).
However, in 2012 with her husband a candidate, she voted in Fort Bend in both the Republican primary (in person) and then absentee in the primary run off. She is classified as an active registered voter in both Pennsylvania and Fort Bend County, Texas.
The Star contacted Bruce Fleming to ask him why he had voted in both states in the same elections for at least three different elections. According to Fleming he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and he was back and forth between Houston and Bucks County for treatment. He seemed to indicate that was why he voted in both states. However, our research shows that Fleming started voting in both states in the 2006 general election and continued to vote in both states through 2010. Again, the 2012 primary records for Pennsylvania are not available yet. Fleming told the Star that he would have to talk to his wife and get back to us. He didn’t.
Ouch. Fleming is the Republican candidate for Fort Bend County Commissioner Precinct 1, against Richard Morrison. Fleming’s vote in the 2008 Democratic primary was aberrant – as Juanita demonstrated, he’s a consistent Republican primary voter otherwise. One presumes he was among those who voted in the Dem primary that year at the exhortation of Rush Limbaugh, to mess with things. Anyway, the Chron story ties this back to a larger theme.
“I’m, frankly, shocked at the double, secret life that my opponent has been living for the past six years,” said Fleming’s Democratic opponent, incumbent Commissioner Richard Morrison. “I know a lot of precinct chairs that are Republicans here in Fort Bend County, and I know them to be hard-working, they play by the rules and they would never stoop to anything like this.”
Morrison and fellow Fort Bend Democrats took aim at Catherine Engelbrecht, founder and president of True the Vote, a Houston-based tea party group dedicated to combating voter fraud nationwide and pushing for voter photo identification. Engelbrecht lives in Fort Bend’s Precinct 1.
“While local and national Republican leaders were tilting at the windmills of imaginary voter fraud, real voter fraud was taking place under their noses,” said Fort Bend County Democratic Chairman Steve Brown. “It demonstrates that the Republicans’ crusade against voter fraud is either disingenuous or ill- conceived – maybe both – to be totally unaware of a serial fraudulent voter like Fleming while aggressively harassing little old ladies attempting to vote in Briargate (a Houston neighborhood in Fort Bend County).”
The irony sure is thick, isn’t it? The story has a fairly limp response from some TTV person, because let’s face it, people like Fleming aren’t who they’re interested in. Additional coverage from the Fort Bend Star is here, a little gloating from Juanita is here, further commentary from FBCDP Chair Steve Brown about what protecting the integrity of the vote really means is here, and PDiddie has more.
Isn’t this “in person” voter fraud? Isn’t it already illegal? And, why hasn’t he been charged?
I wonder if Fleming will still win because the sheep in Ft Bend just push the “R” button and straight party ballot vote.
Sounds like he is in trouble.
Wasn’t there a rumble a few years ago about Pete Olson voting in two different states?
Completely inexcusable, illegal behavior. Morrison is the incumbent, and I presume favored to win in any event. Too late for Fleming to withdraw and be replaced on the ballot. Republicans can vote a straight ticket, and then de-select Fleming, and should do that.
Occasionally I hear a person with a second home at the beach or mountains try to rationalize that they have a stake in both locations and should be allowed to vote in local elections in both places, but that is nonsense. This fellow likely will not be allowed to vote anywhere after he is convicted of this felony.
Mainstream,
The district is marginally Republican (53-55%, IIRC). The two major reasons Morrison won in 2008 were a) Obama raising the floor throughout FB County, and b) Morrison owning his neighborhood due to him pressing a toll road issue, carrying a handful of 25-30% Dem precincts with anywhere from 45-55% in the process. Every other Dem candidate on the ballot lost Precinct 1.
I’m told that Commissioners Court left this precinct alone and there was no reason to think they needed to do any redistricting work to beat Morrison in a more normal Presidential year. Obviously, I’m biased since I’m a D and like Morrison personally. But I hope there’s enough ticket-splitters who care about this matter and re-elect Morrison.
Local GOP activists are telling me that Morrison is a good cultural fit for the district and likely would have won in any event this year, but now they expect an organized GOP effort to de-select Fleming.
I don’t understand the bashing of True the Vote and Ms. Engelbrecht in connecton with this fraudulent act. Double voting across state lines is a rare offense, and few organizations would have the resources to research and uncover this sort of behavior. My precinct has several thousand voters, and I have no clue what states they once may have lived in.
The problem with TTV is that the potential for multi-state voting is greater than in-person voter impersonation. Over 4 million voters are registered to vote in more than one state…and there’s practically no way for states to talk to one another to detect if one of them has already voted. They are not serious about voter fraud if they’re not addressing this major loophole…it just so happens that this perpetrator lives in Engelbrecht’s precinct.
Interesting. What is the source of the data that 4 million voters are registered in multiple states? Maybe we need legislation that upon learning that a voter is double-registered, the voter is required to choose his active registration and cancel the other.
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