By PAUL J. WEBER
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - State officials are warning the largest county in Texas that funding could be at risk unless elections administrators in Houston check whether more than 9,000 voters are really dead.
The Harris County Attorney's Office fired back Wednesday by calling the notice a threat and unlawful. The Texas secretary of state's office sent a letter to the county earlier Wednesday, quoting state election code that says voter registration funding can be withheld for lack of cooperation.
The Social Security Administration has identified about 81,000 voters statewide who are potentially dead. Rich Parsons of the secretary of state's office says a new law requires counties to review the names for accuracy.
The result has been county election officials mailing out letters that essentially asks voters to prove they're alive.
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