From Texas Public Policy Foundation
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted out a bold statement on Tuesday: “We don’t have voter fraud in Texas…”
It was part of a longer tweet, which continued, “but we did have massive systemwide grid failure, statewide power outages, bursted water pipes, no water and high electricity bills. Um. Now I understand why some elected officials are trying to limit and restrict people’s right to vote.”
Bursted pipes aside, let’s be very clear. We do have voter fraud in Texas. Here are just a few examples:
- In Bandera County, three suspects were indicted last month on charges stemming from the 2018 Medina County Primary Election. They’re being accused of illegally harvesting ballots from assisted living centers.
- In Medina County, four people—including an elected justice of the peace—were charged in February with 150 counts of election fraud. The charges include ballot harvesting and illegal voting.
- In Bexar County, a self-described “ballot chaser” was arrested in January and charged with multiple voter fraud felonies. Investigators say she traded gift bags for votes.
- In Gregg County last fall, a county commissioner and three others were charged with 134 felony counts of voter fraud. The Attorney General’s Office says they urged ineligible voter to vote by mail, and they filled in a vote for the county commissioner.
Mayor Turner may say “We don’t have voter fraud in Texas…” but he can’t truly believe it doesn’t exist. The AG’s Office has prosecuted hundreds of instances of fraud. And every instance steals the voice of a legitimate Texas voter.
Let’s stop denying reality, and let’s start talking about how to make Texas elections free, fair and secure.