Candidate voted twice in same elections, records show

Bruce Fleming Candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 1 Bruce Fleming Candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 1 Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Candidate voted twice in same elections, records show 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Republican precinct chairman running for a seat on the Fort Bend County Commissioner's Court has cast ballots in both Texas and Pennsylvania in the last three federal elections, official records in both states show.

Bruce J. Fleming, a Sugar Land resident running for Precinct 1 commissioner, voted in person in Sugar Land in 2006, 2008 and 2010 and by mail in each of those years in Yardley, Pa., according to election records in both states.

Fleming, who owns a home in Yardley, voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 presidential primary in Texas. His wife, Nancy Fleming, who is listed as a resident of Yardley, voted by mail in both places in the 2010 general election, records show.

"The less said is better," Bruce Fleming said when contacted by phone late Tuesday afternoon. "Until we can determine the situation, I can't really comment."

According to the Texas Election Code, knowingly voting or attempting to vote more than once in an election was a third-degree felony until the Texas Legislature upgraded the offense to a second-degree felony in 2011. "These are serious allegations, and until they're investigated, we're going to reserve comment," said Fort Bend County GOP Chairman Mike Gibson.

Gibson said Fleming had been "extremely involved with the party" in recent years and noted he was precinct chairman of the year in 2010.

Although Fort Bend Democrats insisted that Fleming be removed from the ballot, Gibson said that cannot be done at this late date. "If he's elected, the only way to get him out would be if he was convicted of a felony, which this would be."

The Secretary of State's Office does not have authority to investigate allegations of voter fraud, but refers complaints to the Attorney General's office for investigation. Complaints or allegations of voter fraud can be filed directly with the Attorney General's office or local authorities for investigation.

"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)."

Logan Churchwell, a spokesman for True the Vote, said a check of the organization's records indicated that Fleming had requested a True the Vote weekly email newsletter in 2010, but had never had an official role with the organization."In principle, True The Vote is more than concerned with fraudulent absentee voting," Churchwell said in an email. "In the past two weeks, TTV turned over 99 cases of potential interstate voter fraud by way of absentee ballots."

According to his campaign website, Fleming, 60, has been a Texas resident for more than 20 years. He worked in sales management for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Boston Scientific Corporation before becoming a McDonald's franchisee.

Don Bankston, a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, said the party would file complaints with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the U.S. Justice Department and Bucks County, Pa., officials.

joe.holley@chron.com