# Jeb Bush marked 'Hispanic' on Fla. voter registration form **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 6, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956 "2015-04-06T14:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/1 "2015-04-06T14:23:47Z")
> **[Jeb Bush marked 'Hispanic' on Florida voter form: NYT](https://www.yahoo.com/news/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-fla-voter-registration-form-131753853.html)** > > Likely Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush, who was popular among Spanish-speaking voters while Florida governor, marked himself as "Hispanic" on a 2009 voter registration application, The New York Times reported on Monday. The newspaper... > [@](#): > > Likely Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush, who was popular among Spanish-speaking voters while Florida governor, marked himself as ‘Hispanic’ on a 2009 voter registration application, The New York Times reported on Monday. OK, so why should I care about this? The last thing I want is another Bush in the White House, but what’s the significance of this? Did he gain something by doing this? The article mentions nothing. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/2 "2015-04-06T14:57:36Z")
Perhaps he is trying to make it seem like a larger proportion of Latinos vote conservative than they actually do. Which could lead to more Latinos voting conservatively, in an attempt to fit in with others. Since this would be ineffectual if he was the only white person doing it, we would need to assume this is part of a larger organized effort. The GOP has probably conspired to do much worse, so I wouldn’t put it past them. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/3 "2015-04-06T15:03:26Z")
Well, I wasn’t going to vote for him if he got the nomination. I’m still not going to vote for him, but now people could say I’m doing it out of anti-Hispanic animus or something. So, there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/4 "2015-04-06T17:08:33Z")
Can we expect Scott Brown to ridicule him for this? BTW, has Brown decided which state he’s going to lose his Senate bid from in 2016? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/5 "2015-04-06T17:17:56Z")
Why is this news? A check box on a form that no one is supposed to see? Why are they even requiring people to state ethnicity to vote? That seems pretty outdated. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/6 "2015-04-06T17:27:52Z")
WAG his wife filled it out and he signed it. She’s Hispanic and checked the box without thinking. My wife fills out a lot of forms for me. My handwriting sucks so bad. Hers is very pretty and legible. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/7 "2015-04-06T17:29:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Why is this news? A check box on a form that no one is supposed to see? Why are they even requiring people to state ethnicity to vote? That seems pretty outdated. I think they want to have statistics so they can know if there is a problem. “we have 25% Hispanics in Florida, but only 3.5% are registered to vote.” Something like that. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/8 "2015-04-06T17:30:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Why is this news? A check box on a form that no one is supposed to see? Why are they even requiring people to state ethnicity to vote? That seems pretty outdated. It’s the registration form, not the ballot. Marking demographic information is a way of monitoring that minority groups are being registered to vote as part of the Federal Voting Rights act. In FLorida it’s requested, but not mandatory. Here is text from the federal voter registration form: [http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Federal%20Voter%20Registration\_6-25-14\_ENG.pdf](http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Federal%20Voter%20Registration_6-25-14_ENG.pdf) [http://www.eac.gov/voter\_resources/register\_to\_vote.aspx](http://www.eac.gov/voter_resources/register_to_vote.aspx) > [@](#): > > Box 8 — Race or Ethnic Group > A few States ask for your race or ethnic group, in order > to administer the Federal Voting Rights Act. To find > out if your State asks for this information, see item 8 > in the instructions under your State. If so, put in Box 8 > the choice that best describes you from the list below: > • American Indian or Alaskan Native > • Asian or Pacific Islander > • Black, not of Hispanic Origin > • Hispanic > • Multi‑racial > • White, not of Hispanic Origin > • Other > [@aceplace57](#): > > WAG his wife filled it out and he signed it. She’s Hispanic and checked the box without thinking. > > My wife fills out a lot of forms for me. My handwriting sucks so bad. Hers is very pretty and legible. I don’t think it’s a huge deal either, but if you sign something someone else filled out (especially voter registration which many Republicans are fighting to protect from “fraud”) I’d read it and make sure it’s right. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/9 "2015-04-06T18:53:28Z")
Given all the crap the right-wingers have given Elizabeth Warren over marking one application as “Native American” I find this hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/10 "2015-04-06T18:59:11Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Can we expect Scott Brown to ridicule him for this? Given all the shade thrown for Elizabeth Warren claiming to be “Native American”, someone should sauce the gander in the same way that the goose was sauced… ETA, Ninja’d by **CaptMurdock**! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/11 "2015-04-06T19:14:13Z")
What Elizabeth Warren did was different. Because…_reasons_. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/12 "2015-04-06T19:15:43Z")
Ugh. Has Bush ever publicly claimed to be Hispanic? Has he defended this action as anything other than a mistake? So yes, this is different. Very different. ---
**Author:** ![Neem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@Neem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neem)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/13 "2015-04-06T19:18:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Ugh. Has Bush ever publicly claimed to be Hispanic? Has he defended this action as anything other than a mistake? > > So yes, this is different. Very different. It says in the article he said on twitter it was a mistake. I hate Jeb Bush as much as anyone but why is this a big deal? What could it have possibly been other than a mistake anyway? He had no reason to assume anyone would ever look at that form. Edit: Oh, I misunderstood your point. Sorry, I think we agree. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/14 "2015-04-06T19:21:50Z")
> [@Neem](#): > > It says in the article he said on twitter it was a mistake. > > I hate Jeb Bush as much as anyone but why is this a big deal? What could it have possibly been other than a mistake anyway? He had no reason to assume anyone would ever look at that form. Indeed. When EW was challenged on the authenticity of her claims about Indian heritage, she doubled down. Now, I think it’s a mountain out of a molehill, but it’s silly to claim that Bush’s act is the same as Warren’s. Warren to this day will claim Indian heritage even though there is no documented proof of that heritage and even though she is not a registered member of a tribe. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/15 "2015-04-06T19:23:46Z")
Yea, I don’t really think this needs any deeper explanation than “he checked the wrong box”. With tens of millions of voters, I imagine it happens pretty frequently. [dated joke]I even heard there’s several thousand Jews in Miami-Dade that accidentally put their ethnicity as “Buchanan”[/dated joke] ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/16 "2015-04-06T19:25:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Indeed. When EW was challenged on the authenticity of her claims about Indian heritage, she doubled down. Now, I think it’s a mountain out of a molehill, but it’s silly to claim that Bush’s act is the same as Warren’s. Warren to this day will claim Indian heritage even though there is no documented proof of that heritage and even though she is not a registered member of a tribe. And, who knows…there could be some Mexican in the Bush woodpile (they might not even know about it as we can be VERY sneaky :p). As others have said, much ado about nuffin’ here. There are a host of reasons why most SDMB members wouldn’t consider voting for Bush. This would be reason number 1067… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/17 "2015-04-06T19:35:08Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Warren to this day will claim Indian heritage even though there is no documented proof of that heritage and even though she is not a registered member of a tribe. She never said there was any documentation, only that it was family lore and that she does have high cheekbones. Many people, especially in Oklahoma, have Indian ancestry but are not registered tribal members. IOW Warren was not lying and Bush checked the wrong box. But we know what the reaction would be if the parties were reversed, don’t we? If HRC had claimed to be Hispanic, the guffaws on Fox would continue right up until the election. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/18 "2015-04-06T19:35:38Z")
It’s pronounced “Heb.” ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/19 "2015-04-06T19:38:23Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Since this would be ineffectual if he was the only white person doing it, we would need to assume this is part of a larger organized effort. There are lots of white Hispanics who would legitimately check that (like Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz, in fact), so why would he be the only one? If it was indeed deliberate, it could have been a way to find out what kind of campaign messages “Hispanics” were receiving. How you check those boxes determines who calls you and what flyers you get in the mail. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956/20 "2015-04-06T19:39:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Indeed. When EW was challenged on the authenticity of her claims about Indian heritage, she doubled down. Now, I think it’s a mountain out of a molehill, but it’s silly to claim that Bush’s act is the same as Warren’s. Warren to this day will claim Indian heritage even though there is no documented proof of that heritage and even though she is not a registered member of a tribe. There are thousands of people who claim some Indian ancestry with no more “proof” than grandpa said his grandpa married an Indian. Remember such things might well have been tried to keep hidden 100 or more years ago. There are thousands of people who have Indian Ancestry who cannot be registered tribal members. Many tribes require you to be at least 1/8 or even 1/4 descended from a tribal member to register. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeb-bush-marked-hispanic-on-fla-voter-registration-form/716956.md?page=2)