Jeb Bush Jokes His Voter Form That Says He’s Hispanic Was A ‘Mistake’-Florida May Say It’s A ‘Felony’

Should a former governor’s false statement on a voter registration form be ignored, because he’s a powerful politician likely running for president?

The media is abuzz today over Jeb Bush‘s 2009 voter registration form.

“In a 2009 voter-registration application, obtained from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department,” the New York Times first reported this morning, “Mr. Bush marked Hispanic in the field labeled ‘race/ethnicity.'”

Via Twitter, the likely GOP presidential candidate laughed it off this morning:

And while one might decide to gloss over it as a silly mistake, the State of Florida might see it differently.

The State of Florida’s Voter Registration Form states, “It is a 3rd degree felony to submit false information. Maximum penalties are $5,000 and/or 5 years in prison.”

Dr. Michael McDonald, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, and who runs the United States Elections Project, observes that “rarely, if ever,” is that law “enforced in cases like Bush.”

Of course, the Florida governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Republicans, so, Bush is probably pretty safe from missing the 2016 election because he’s sitting in a jail cell for five years.

The New York Times adds:

While Mr. Bush’s claiming to be Hispanic may have been a careless mistake, confusion over heritage is no laughing matter during a campaign season.

During her Senate campaign in 2012, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was accused of misrepresenting herself as Native American. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has had to explain his birth in Canada.

And then there was that freshman U.S. Senator accused of being from Kenya…

Meanwhile, folks on Twitter aren’t too impressed:

 

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr