Jeb Bush speaks to New Hampshire residents at a packed Dover house party. (Jim Cole, AP)  Jeb Bush is not Hispanic, even if he somehow said so on an old voter registration form.  The New York Times obtained a copy of Bush’s 2009 voter registration application from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department in which the former Florida governor marked “Hispanic” in the section asking about race and ethnicity.  Bush is a scion of one of America’s best-known political families. He speaks fluent Spanish — and he does have some of the strongest ties to Hispanics of any potential GOP presidential contender.  “It’s unclear where the paperwork error was made. The governor’s family certainly got a good laugh out of it,” said Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell.  Indeed, Bush’s youngest and namesake son trolled his father on Twitter with the hashtag #HonoraryLatino.  Bush’s response to Jeb Bush Jr.: “My mistake! Don’t think I fooled anyone!”  Bush’s wife, Columba, was born and raised in Mexico, and they met while he was on an exchange program as a prep school student. In the 1970s, Bush worked in Venezuela as a vice president for Texas Commerce Bank. While governor, Bush enjoyed the support of Hispanic voters and had strong ties to the Cuban Americans who are a significant presence in the Miami area.  As the NYT points out, “confusion over heritage is no laughing matter during a campaign season.”  Remember Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who had to explain her Native American heritage in her 2012 Senate race? Then there’s GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada and renounced his citizenship in that country last year.  Cruz, a Texas senator, and legal experts argue he meets the presidential requirement of “natural born citizen” in the Constitution.
New York Times obtains 2009 form signed by Jeb Bush in which he marks box for "Hispanic" in section for race and ethnicity.