HoustonChronicle.com - 6 accused of voting twice may face charges

Oct. 28, 2004, 5:59AM

6 accused of voting twice may face charges

A grand jury will hear cases in Galveston County

By KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

GALVESTON - A half-dozen Galveston County voters could face criminal charges if a grand jury decides they intended to cast more than one early election ballot and commit voter fraud, officials said.

Since early voting opened Oct. 18, daily checks indicated that six people might have voted twice as of Monday, said Galveston County Clerk Mary Ann Daigle.

District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said the cases will be submitted to a grand jury and indictments will be issued if the jury believes voting fraud occurred.

Voting twice is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Sistrunk said.
More than 30,000 people had filled out ballots in Galveston County by the time the early-voting locations closed for the day Tuesday, Daigle said. The county has 185,880 registered voters.

'With the mail-in ballots that have been returned, the total vote is 36,452 so far,' Daigle said.

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