Judge throws out election fraud lawsuit against Fort Worth City councilwoman
A judge has thrown out a lawsuit against City Councilwoman Kelly Allen Gray that alleged election fraud.
The lawsuit — filed by Chris Nettles, who challenged her for the District 8 council seat in May — questioned the validity of more than 200 absentee ballots in that election.
Visiting Judge William Bosworth this week ruled in the case, dismissing the lawsuit and awarding Gray $9,234 in attorneys fees. The judge also ordered Nettles to pay $4,500 in sanctions, court records show.
Gray said the ruling was a relief and allowed “her to return full focus to serving her constituents,” according to a statement from her attorney.
Nettles, a justice of the peace clerk, has said his campaign reviewed hundreds of absentee ballots in the race and found differences in signatures on the applications and on the actual ballots. His staff indicated at least 200 of those ballots should be reviewed and discredited. He said they were evidence of election fraud.
Gray, first elected to the City Council in 2012, was re-elected in May with 53.48% of the vote, or 1,988 votes, to 1,483 votes cast for Nettles. A third challenger, Kevin “KL” Johnson, drew 246 votes, according to Tarrant County election results.
This story was originally published August 8, 2019 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Judge throws out election fraud lawsuit against Fort Worth City councilwoman."
