Tarrant County Leaders Launch Electoral Integrity Task Force

Three elected leaders of Tarrant County have announced the creation of a task force to investigate and punish voter fraud.

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Wayborn, District Attorney Phil Sorrells, and Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hara announced Wednesday the formation of an “Election Integrity Task Force.” The task force will include existing county resources and personnel such as investigators and the prosecutor, Sheriff Wayborn said.

“We want to reassure the good citizens of Tarrant County that we are committed to investigating any complaint relating to election-related matters, whether it be evidence or probable cause of a crime,” Sheriff Wayborn said. “Over the past few years, we have received complaints about electoral misconduct. These complaints have been followed up and some of them are still pending.”

Waybourne did not say how many complaints were filed, nor did he disclose the details of the complaints, which are currently still pending. During a press conference on Wednesday, Waybourne pointed to a 2018 case in which criminal charges were brought against a judge in connection with election violations.

Prior to September 2022, Wayborn said that complaints were often directed to Texas Attorney Ken Paxton’s office. In late September 2022, Texas’s highest criminal court confirmed that Paxton needed permission from the local prosecutor’s office to file an election case.

This task force will help make complaints more effective, Wayborn said. Sorells said he also heard concerns about the integrity of the election “throughout the campaign”, though he was unable to elaborate on specific incidents.

“We are not concerned that the elections were invalid. We want to reassure the public that our elections are safe,” Sorrells said.

Judge Tim O’Hara said the woman who was the election judge during the early and November voting met with him for about an hour on Tuesday. O’Hara said she remembers feeling insecure, pointing to the example of people not respecting 100 foot rule.

“I think that each of us here should stand up for fair, safe and fair elections. If it goes to that, then I think it’s great,” O’Hara said.

Emily Abi French is a staff lawyer for the Texas Civil Rights Project. The non-profit organization works with voters across the state. During the election period, voters most often ask questions about where to find polling stations and registration information.

Abi French said there was no need for this kind of task force.

“Local prosecutors already have the authority to investigate cases of electoral fraud. There are very, very few issues with voter fraud,” she said. “The Secretary of State reviewed the 2020 elections. In Tarrant County, they found 12 possible cases out of 850,000 votes cast. It doesn’t affect anything. It is important to note that the state has already considered them.”

She added that there are concerns that such a task force could lead to voter intimidation.

“From talking to voters, thousands and thousands of voters across the state in every election since 2018, I can tell you that when voters see more laws and see criminal things related to voting, they get nervous. Even if they do exactly what they should do,” she said.

O’Hara answered questions related to evidence of voter fraud and intimidation.

“It’s like a bank robbery. Is it okay to have one bank robbery or two? Is it normal to have one abduction, two or three? So there should be no falsifications in the elections. This will go a long way in containing it,” he said. “The idea that this is somehow voter intimidation, who are we going to intimidate? People who cheat? People who commit crimes? Well, we want to intimidate it.”

Hyder Garcia, Tarrant County’s election administrator, is not part of this task force. O’Hara said he “expects him [Garcia] cooperate,” although he is not a member because the task force is focused on investigation and prosecution. Garcia told NBC 5 he had no comment on Wednesday.

For advice and guidance, residents may contact the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office at 817-884-1213.