Tarrant County voter Melanie Bell Lorant was turned away at the polls Wednesday after being told someone else had voted in her place. Worse, Lorant says poll workers refused to document the problem or find a solution.
“I need HELP!” Lorant posted on Facebook after the incident:
Went to early vote today and was informed I would not be allowed to vote because someone already voted in my place.
They refused any help and refused to provide a solution. They refused to provide a print proving that this happened and refused to request permission to take a photo to prove this happened.
They allowed someone to vote in my place without verifying the ID!!!
I HAD TO LEAVE WITHOUT VOTING.
Lorant called the Tarrant County Elections office and spoke to the early voting coordinator. She learned someone had voted in her name at Southlake Town Hall on Sunday, October 28, at 11:32 a.m.
How could that happen with Texas’ voter ID requirement?
It’s possible a poll worker at Southlake mistakenly signed in another voter under Lorant’s name. Lorant says they did not properly verify the voter’s ID, allowing someone to steal her vote and disenfranchise her. Election officials can resolve whether it was a mistake or voter fraud by simply looking at the voter signature page.
In either case, election workers may have cost Lorant her vote and allowed a fraudulent one to be counted.
Lorant says she was told her only option now is to vote a provisional ballot, then election officials will “compare signatures and decide whose vote to accept.” But whether or not Lorant’s provisional vote is accepted, the other ballot has already been cast and will be counted—it can’t be uncast.
“This is NOT acceptable,” Lorant said.
This is a developing story.
