VOTER GUIDE Tarrant County Election Integrity Task Force faces divided opinions
A new task force will monitor election integrity in Tarrant County. The Tarrant County Election Integrity Task Force was announced by longtime Sheri Bill E. Waybourn, newly elected County Judge Tim O’Hare and newly elected District Attorney Phil Sorrells during a February press conference in Fort Worth. “We want to assure the good citizens of Tarrant County that we intend to pursue any complaints regarding election issues where BY HANNAH JOHNSON & KARLY LAMM
was absent from the commission meeting and the press conference to announce the task force. More than 20 of the 60 registered speakers showed up at the meeting to discuss the task force. Most of the speakers during the four-and-a-half-hour meeting included poll workers, precinct chairs and election judges, and all of them supported the plan to have a task force. According to Waybourn, residents have reached out to multiple depart- ments and o ces to handle election complaints. Previously, complaints were directed to the attorney general’s Court of Criminal Appeals in 2022. Paxton has since led a motion to appeal this decision. Simmons requested the number of documented cases of voter fraud that warrant the creation of the task force. Waybourn did not have pre- cise data on hand, but said 11 cases are under investigation. O’Hare added there are four cases being prosecuted from the 2016 election. Brooks did not support the cre- ation of the task force, saying there was not a “demonstrable issue” with election integrity in Tarrant County. o ce. As of Septem- ber, Attorney General Ken Paxton must get permission from local county prosecutors to pursue cases of alleged election fraud, according The
From left, Sheri Bill E. Waybourn, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and District Attorney Phil Sorrells announce the election integrity task force at a February press conference. (Hannah Johnson/Community Impact) KNOW RIGHTS AS A VOTER Residents have the right to vote however they choose. It is a crime for someone to pressure or in uence a person while voting.
there is evidence or probable cause that a crime has been committed,” Way- bourn said. The task force, made up of investi- gators and deputies, will look into complaints of elec- tion fraud. Existing resources will be
If a person has a disability or is age 65 or older, residents have the right to vote by mail- in or absentee ballot, or in person at the polling location. Residents have the right to vote a ballot by themselves, in private. Choose someone trusted to help if the ballot cannot be lled out.
It is a crime to take a mail ballot from residents, unless they are physically incapable of mailing their own ballot. home or outside of a polling place to oer assistance or take the ballot. An elections o cial will never approach voters at
“WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE IN TARRANT COUNTY BELIEVE THE ELECTIONS ARE SECURE AND FAIR.” BILL E. WAYBOURN, TARRANT COUNTY SHERIFF
SOURCE: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS COMMUNITY IMPACT
used for the task force, including current county personnel, he said. Support toward the task force was divided in the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. During a February meeting, O’Hare and Commissioner Manny Ramirez supported the task force, while commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roy Charles Brooks did not. Commissioner Gary Fickes, who rep- resents Precinct 4, did not comment regarding his favor. Tarrant County Election Administrator Heider Garcia
He also raised concerns about denying election results, citing the 2022 election outcomes. “I am concerned we are enshrining in our Tarrant County infrastructure the ability to deny the results of any election that the three of you take exception to,” Brooks said, referring to O’Hare, Waybourn and Sorrells. Waybourn told him the task force will be handling investigations of criminal activity and not canvassing
elections. “It has nothing to do with the conclusion of the election,” he said. O’Hare cited multiple instances of election complaints. He said the task force will not disparage Tarrant County’s Election Department, but there are always ways to improve security and e ciency. “We want to make sure people in Tarrant County believe the elections are secure and fair,” O’Hare said.
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