TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — The new Election Integrity Task Force has been launched in Tarrant County.
“We take the prospects of election fraud or anything to do with shenanigans involving elections very serious in this county,” Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn said.
Waybourn, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells, and Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare – all Republican, elected officials – announced the creation of the new unit during a press conference Wednesday.
“There’s currently four cases pending in the District Attorney’s office and there has been a conviction as recently as, I think, 2018,” O’Hare said.
Sorrells clarified the four pending cases are from 2018 and that there are no cases from 2020 or 2022 currently in the court system.
It should also be noted that a recent state audit found no discrepancies in Tarrant County, calling 2020 “a quality, transparent election.”
“This has been an issue that several people countywide and Tarrant County ran on in the election of 2022,” TCU Political Science Professor Jim Riddlesperger said. “There has been precious little -- if any -- evidence that there has been voter fraud of any kind, but that really doesn't mitigate the fact that many voters believe that there has been voter fraud.”
O’Hare campaigned on the issue of an election integrity unit. He also pledged to drastically reduce the county budget.
This new unit will rely on existing resources, like criminal investigators with the sheriff’s office.
“This should not have – as it’s currently configured – should not any impact to the budget,” O’Hare said.
The expectation is that Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia will cooperate with the task force, O’Hare added.
Last fall, Garcia invited the public to test voting machines ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election.
We'll let you know when we hear back from Garcia on the new Election Integrity Task Force.
“It’s interesting how everything gets so partisan,” O’Hare said. “And for the life of me, I can’t understand why anybody wouldn’t want to make sure the elections are secure.”
Anyone with a tip for the new Elections Integrity Task Force in Tarrant County can call them at 817-884-1213.