Recording artists Drake, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and The Game are all registered to vote at the same beige, $300,000 house in a modest new development in Katy. Nobody was more perplexed than the homeowners, who said they were unaware of the celebrities’ registrations. Neighbors said they had not seen any of the Grammy-nominated artists grilling outside, mowing the lawn or washing their cars. It wasn’t a new reality TV show, but it appears to have been a prank perpetrated by someone who registered the artists to vote without their knowledge, armed only with their legal names and dates of birth.
It did not even require an ID. Amanda Ruisi, a representative for 50 Cent, said the rapper did not register to vote at the Katy house and had no idea somebody signed him up to vote there. His attorney started looking into the matter after the Chronicle reached out. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad IN-DEPTH: Why you shouldn’t worry that Drake, 50 Cent and Chris Brown are falsely registered to vote in Katy The Chronicle made numerous efforts to reach representatives for the other artists but was not successful. The apparent prank shines a spotlight on a potential loophole in federal voting registration law that allows virtually anyone to register friends, enemies or celebrities to vote. Whether the intent is malicious or not, experts say it is still illegal.
This case is high profile because it involves famous celebrities, said Randall Erben, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who served as assistant secretary of state in Texas from 1989 to 1991. But the scheme likely would not allow anyone to actually cast fraudulent ballots, since they would not have one of the approved IDs to vote in Texas. And none of the five artists registered at the Katy house cast a ballot in last year’s elections, so no actual voter fraud occurred. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad State law outlines strict penalties for submitting false or fraudulent registration forms in the first place. The crime, then, is high risk and low reward, says Erben. “These people are either committing high misdemeanors or felonies,” Erben said of whoever registered the celebrities to vote. “This is not fooling around.” WHO’S INVOLVED?: A look at the rappers involved in Katy voter registration prank Records from the Harris County Tax Assessor’s Office show someone filled out registration applications for each of the men on Aug.
15, a day when Drake was performing 1,500 miles away in Inglewood, Calif. Each form appears to have been filled out by the same person, according to a handwriting expert. Voter registration applications show five rappers – 50 Cent, Drake, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and The Game – are registered to vote at one house in Katy on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 in Houston. Voter registration applications show five rappers – 50 Cent, Drake, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and The Game – are registered to vote at one house in Katy on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 in Houston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer State law only allows a spouse, parent or child acting as an agent to fill out the forms on someone’s behalf, meaning one person could not have legally submitted the forms for all five men. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Usually, people provide a Texas driver’s license number, Texas personal ID or the last four digits of their Social Security number to confirm their identity. But, in compliance with federal law, there is an option on the voter registration form to say that you do not have any of those three forms of identification. In those cases, the filer only needs to provide full legal names and birth dates – information readily available online for celebrities. Whoever registered the five artists at the Katy house checked that box indicating they did not have an ID on each of the forms. ‘We are hearing this for the first time’ The suburban house where the five men are registered is nestled in a quiet, relatively new subdivision in Katy. When a Chronicle reporter visited the two-bedroom house last month, no one answered the door. The house looked largely uninhabited, except for a stray delivery bag near the doorstep.
Ivo and Val Ngomba bought the house last year, according to property records. The Ngombas said they rent the house to tenants, and they had no idea the men were registered to vote there. “We are hearing this for the first time,” Val Ngomba told the Chronicle. Five famous musical artists, including the rappers Drake and 50 Cent, are registered to vote at this two-bedroom house in Katy. The homeowner and property manager said they were unaware the men were registered there. Five famous musical artists, including the rappers Drake and 50 Cent, are registered to vote at this two-bedroom house in Katy. The homeowner and property manager said they were unaware the men were registered there. Dylan McGuinness/Staff Their property manager, Megan Donaldson, said the men never rented the home and had no ties to the property. They never appear to have visited the home. The current tenant of the house had been in jail for much of December and January on a charge of evading arrest. Through an attorney, the tenant said she has no idea how the men came to be registered there. VOTER FAQ: Voting in Houston’s March 5 primary elections: What to know Following a records request, the Chronicle obtained the musicians’ voter registration applications, which showed identical dates of registration and common handwriting. Mark Songer, a former FBI agent and forensic document examiner for Robson Forensic, confirmed the similarities in penmanship. “I would certainly say that all five of the voter registration application forms more than likely share a common author,” said Songer, who was trained to examine documents while at the bureau. Erben, the law professor, said there are stiff penalties for lying on these forms, and broad protections to ensure those people cannot cast actual votes if they do so. “You have a lot of protections against sending in a forged or false voter registration application,” he said. The legal ramifications Submitting a false or forged voter application form is a third-degree felony, according to Erben, and unlawfully acting as someone’s agent is a Class B misdemeanor. Voter registration applications also are public documents, triggering other criminal penalties against forgery and misstatements on such paperwork.
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Making a false statement on an application is a Class A misdemeanor. Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000, according to the Texas Penal Code. Class B misdemeanors are punishable by up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2000 fine. Third-degree felonies are punishable by anywhere from two to 10 years in jail, and a fine up to $10,000. 2024 TEXAS PRIMARY VOTER GUIDE: Local and national races that your vote will decide in the March 5 primaries Whoever filed the forms for the celebrities acknowledged the legal risk in signing the applications, which read: “I understand that giving false information to procure a voter registration is perjury, and a crime under state and federal law. Conviction of this crime may result in imprisonment up to one year in jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both.” The provision allowing people to register without an ID was written into the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 for eligible voters who don’t have a driver license or a Social Security number, according to Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “There is not a large group of people in the country who are eligible to vote that don’t have either of those things, but there are some people,” Morales-Doyle said. That could include U.S. citizens who were born outside of the United States and never applied for a Social Security number. The same federal law also prevents an applicant who submitted a false registration from taking advantage of it. “The first time they went to go to vote, they’d have to show something, like a utility bill showing that Drake pays the utility bills at that address,” Morales-Doyle said.
“And they wouldn’t be able to do that.” Election officials also root out fake registrations by conducting routine voter roll maintenance, such as sending out mailers to the address listed and removing the registration if the voter does not vote in two federal cycles or respond to the confirmation notice. ELECTIONS SIMPLIFIED: In Texas, your vote could matter more in the primary than the November election “I don’t think there will be any trouble removing these false registrations from the rolls,” Morales-Doyle said. The fraudulent registrations also would not pose a threat to the men’s actual voter registrations elsewhere in Texas, according to state officials. They would have needed to list identical ID numbers, or some other information to further corroborate their identities. “People wouldn’t be removed just for having the same name as someone else,” said Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office. After the Chronicle presented the tax office with its findings, the office sent confirmation notices to everyone registered at the house. The registrations can be canceled later if the tax office does not receive a response. County Attorney Christian Menefee, whose office can investigate fraudulent registrations, said voting rights should not be the subject of a prank. “Drake and 50 Cent obviously did not do these voter registrations, and whoever did committed a crime,” he said. Jen Rice contributed to this story. Feb 13, 2024 Photo of Dylan McGuinness By Dylan McGuinness Dylan McGuinness is the political power reporter for the Houston Chronicle. He can be reached at [email protected]. Dylan initially joined the paper through the Hearst Journalism Fellowship program after covering the same beats for the San Antonio Express-News. He previously covered the Rhode Island statehouse for the Associated Press and breaking news for the Boston Globe. He grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Northeastern University in Boston and is a die-hard Red Sox fan. Return To Top About Our Company Careers Our Use of AI Standards and Practices Contact Customer Service Frequently Asked Questions Newsroom Contacts Services Archives Advertising Corporate Subscriptions Account Subscribe e-Edition Newsletters © 2024 Hearst Newspapers, LLC Privacy Notice Your California Privacy Rights Interest Based Ads Terms of Use
In a bizarre turn of events, recording artists Drake, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and The Game find themselves unintentionally sharing a voter registration address at a modest $300,000 house in Katy. The homeowners express bewilderment, claiming ignorance of the celebrities’ registrations, while neighbors report no sightings of the Grammy-nominated artists engaging in typical suburban activities.
This curious situation, akin to a reality TV plot, appears to be a prank orchestrated by someone who registered the artists to vote without their knowledge, exploiting a potential loophole in federal voting registration law. The case gains attention not only for its high-profile subjects but also for shedding light on the legal complexities and risks associated with such actions.
Despite the celebrities being registered at the Katy house, there is no evidence of them casting fraudulent ballots, as they lack the approved IDs required in Texas. The scheme raises questions about the ease with which someone can register individuals without their consent, emphasizing the need for stricter safeguards in the voting registration process.
Investigations reveal that voter registration applications for all five artists were filled out on the same day, displaying identical handwriting. The individuals responsible for this prank potentially face serious legal consequences, including third-degree felonies and misdemeanors, for submitting false or fraudulent registration forms.
The homeowners, Ivo and Val Ngomba, express shock at the revelation, emphasizing their lack of awareness of the artists’ registrations. The property manager and current tenant also disassociate themselves from the situation, leaving the mystery unsolved.
While this incident spotlights a potential flaw in the voter registration system, experts emphasize the stringent penalties for such actions. The artists’ registrations may be subject to cancellation, and election officials employ routine maintenance to root out fake registrations.
In essence, what initially seemed like an unbelievable scenario unfolds as a complex and potentially criminal prank, drawing attention to the intricacies of voter registration laws and the need for heightened security measures.
