Untitled Document

Making an Impact

The suit, filed against Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott... accuses Abbott of targeting minority voters in his prosecution of the provisions in a "deliberate campaign to suppress the minority vote."...

The group behind the lawsuit is the Lone Star Project
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/22/2006)

The Democrats at the Lone Star Project say U.S. Attorney General Al Gonzales and U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton in San Antonio blew their chance to bring justice to the Texas Youth Commission sexual abuse case.
(Houston Chronicle Blog, 3/15/2007)

David Dewhurst has said most Texans don't have much sympathy "for someone who that can't fill out a two page [health insurance] application every six months".

The Democrat-supported Lone Star Project in Washington reported this week that Dewhurst failed to file necessary forms at least six times in recent years.
(San Antonio Expres News,, 4/12/2007)

The Justice staff memo was obtained by the Lone Star Project ...The story broke the same day the U.S. Supreme Court was considering legal challenges to the plan brought by Democrats and minority groups.
(Houston Chronicle, 12/3/2005)

The Texas chapter of the NAACP, along with the Lone Star Project, have analyzed the amicus brief filed by the Justice Department and have concluded, justifiably, that the Voting Rights section of the Justice Department is now controlled by partisan political appointees.
(Roll Call - Donna Brazile, 2/28/2006)

Using the Lone Star Project as an information clearinghouse for all things DeLay. The organization "particularly became relevant as the unethical activities of Tom DeLay came more to light."
(The Fix – Washington Post,3/6/2006)

What's more, the relevant 73-page memo "has been kept under tight wraps" since then. That memo is now publicly available, here in PDF at the Lone Star Project.
(Hotline, 12/2/2005)

Frank Corte - Vacant Lot Legislator
Republican House Caucus Chair uses bogus address to register,
file for office and file campaign reports

Frank Corte is claiming a San Antonio vacant lot as his official residence. Not a vacant house, but a VACANT LOT. Corte shows the bogus address on his voter registration, his candidate filing application and on several official reports he filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Frank Corte with "Toxic"
Tom Craddick

Texas residency laws are pretty lenient. You can establish residency by simply staying overnight somewhere several times a year and receiving mail. Even if professional or personal business takes a person away from their house or apartment for an extended period of time, they can maintain the address as their residence by demonstrating the intent to return. Even under these liberal conditions of residency, Republican State Representative Frank Corte (HD 122, San Antonio) appears to have gone too far and is using a phony address to vote and hold public office. In fact, Corte has signed sworn affidavits on file with the State of Texas affirming that he lived on the vacant lot and appears to have a driver's license with the same address.

No House... or apartment, or condo, or cardboard box

See more photos of the lot below

Corte lists his residence on official documents as 4203 Honeycomb, San Antonio, Texas. But, if you go to this address, you’ll find the vacant lot pictured on this page. Don’t believe it? Go to Google Maps and select street view. You will see the same vacant lot that has remained empty for at least two years.

Bexar County records from 2006 show that the vacant lot once held a house that was demolished or moved. (Bexar County Residential Building Application,10/16/2006) Even though the lot is vacant with no habitable structure of any type, Frank Corte has repeatedly sworn on official documents that he resides at this address.

Will Greg Abbott Investigate? Prosecute?

Possible Penalties

Section 64.012. ILLEGAL VOTING. (a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) votes or attempts to vote in an election in which the person knows the person is not eligible to vote;...

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In that case, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

It is not a stretch to say that Greg Abbott has investigated and indicted individuals for less clear and more minor violations of Texas voting laws. As the Lone Star Project first reported, and other news outlets confirmed, Abbott’s controversial Voter Fraud Task Force relied upon a vague and narrow Texas election statute to prosecute senior citizen Democrats who were simply helping other seniors vote by mail.

4203 Honeycomb, San Antonio, TX, is a vacant lot and clearly not the current residence of Frank Corte. The vacant lot has sat empty for over a year, raising serious questions about whether Frank Corte ever intends to live at this address.

Frank Corte has voted multiple times using a vacant lot as his address. He has also sworn on candidate filing forms and Texas Ethics Commission reports that the vacant lot is his official residence.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has aggressively moved to investigate and prosecute Democrats for less obvious and less serious voting irregularities. Abbott should immediately open an investigation of Frank Corte.

Questions Frank Corte Should Answer for Voters in District 122

Do you currently live in House District 122?
Do you currently claim a homestead exemption in Texas? If so, where?
Why have you failed to update your registration and/or driver's license address as required by State law?
Are you aware that under Texas law voting illegally could subject you to felony prosecution?

Photos of 4203 Honeycomb, San Antonio, Texas

The Lone Star Project is an activity of the Lone Star Fund.

Contributions to this committee are not tax deductible. Federal law requires political committees to use our best efforts to report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year. The Lone Star Fund accepts federal contributions from individuals, partnerships, and other federal political committee of up to $5,000 per calendar year.

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