May
28
Written by:
William Lutz
5/28/2010 5:11 PM
It looks like a 1997 voting rights controversy is coming back to haunt yet another Democrat – this time Bill White, who was party chairman at the time and is running for governor now. Gov. Rick Perry is blasting White for his role in an attempt to deny military voters the right to cast ballots in local elections.
In 1997, Texas Democrats filed an election contest seeking to overturn the results of two local elections in Val Verde County (Del Rio), claiming that soldiers stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base weren’t eligible voters. In two races, Val Verde County voters narrowly elected a Republican sheriff and county commissioner. Democrats argued that military voters could vote in federal elections but not local elections unless they had prior ties to the community.
To make matters worse, the election contest was initially filed by Texas Rural Legal Aid and paid for with tax dollars. After then-U.S. Sens. Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison and then-U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla objected, legal aid withdrew from the case and the election contest was funded privately.
Eventually, Texas courts ruled that the military votes were valid. The sheriff – D’Wayne Jernigan – and has served for more than a decade. During the election contest, it was discovered that the Republican candidate for county commissioner – Murry Kachel – had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and Kachel declined to take office.
Democrats responded by trying to disenfranchise military voters in local elections in the 1997 legislative session. Then-Rep. Hugo Berlanga (D-Corpus Christi) offered an amendment that made it much more difficult for military voters in local elections. The Berlanga amendment was backed by the vast majority of Democrats and was adopted over the strenuous objection of the senior Republican on the House Elections Committee at the time, Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Richardson). The bill to which the Berlanga amendment was attached died in the Senate. White was quoted in
The Abilene Reporter-News defending the Berlanga amendment. (Click here to read).
Ever since that controversy, Republicans have been making the Democrats pay a hefty political price for trying to disenfranchise Texas soldiers. In fact, in 2004, former Rep. Paul Sadler (D-Henderson) was doing quite well in his campaign for an open seat for the Texas Senate – until Texans for Lawsuit Reform conducted a direct mail campaign blasting Sadler for voting for the Berlanga amendment. Then the Sadler campaign started sinking like a rock, and the seat is now held by the eventual victor, Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler).
So it’s no surprise that Gov. Rick Perry is making a campaign issue out of Bill White’s record on military voting rights. He was – after all – state Democratic party chairman when all this was occurring.
Today, Perry sent a release featuring Bosnia war veteran, Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady. “As Memorial Day weekend begins, Bill White should apologize to all veterans and military men and women for supporting limited voting rights for the military,” said O’Grady, who was shot down over Bosnia while helping to enforce a NATO no-fly zone. “As someone who has served overseas, I am personally offended by Bill White’s belief that soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines serving their nation should be denied the right to vote for candidates seeking county, local, and state offices – including the office he is now running for. Bill White should be ashamed of his anti-military beliefs.”
The White campaign issued an immediate response, which may caused the campaign further grief. "Yet again Rick Perry is twisting the truth, and frankly it's disgusting that he's using veterans as a political prop on Memorial Day weekend,” said White spokesperson Katy Bacon. “Bill White has always unequivocally supported the right of men and women in uniform to vote in all elections. Bill White grew up the son of a disabled WWII veteran who went to college on the GI Bill. Bill's father taught him the importance of service and Bill White has a deep respect for those who serve our country."
Later in the release, however, it states: <br> <blockquote] “Under the law, military voters must have some connection with the place where they vote. The article cited in the Rick Perry attack contained an error that was corrected over 10 years ago. A controversy in Val Verde involved election of a County Commissioner who was later found out to be a member of the Klu Klux Klan. He eventually declined to take office.” </blockquote>
Just one problem – there were two candidates in the election contest. One of those two – Sheriff Jernigan had no ties to the KKK, served the people of Val Verde County honorably, and was re-elected.
On top of that, the release attributes the following quote to White: At the time, Bill White stated his support for military voters' right to vote in local elections and described his support by saying, "Military voters have every right to vote where their children are enrolled in school. Military personnel should be allowed to cast ballots in local elections that determine city or county taxes, police and fire protection, etc."
That brought another retort from the Perry campaign’s Mark Miner: <br> <blockquote>
“Bill White’s offensive belief that military men and women’s right to vote is somehow linked to the location of their children’s education is a terrible insult to the men and women of our armed forces who do not have children and to those whose children accompany them while they are stationed abroad. Bill White’s untenable anti-military position also ignores the rights of military men and women who remain connected to communities through their intention to return home following a deployment serving our nation. Bill White should immediately apologize for his attempt to deny military men and women their full voting rights.” </blockquote>
Keep a close eye on this issue. It will almost certainly show up several times between now and November.