Here’s how many illegal voters Tarrant County’s election integrity unit has investigated
Tarrant County’s district attorney has investigated 12 complaints about improper voting since an election integrity task force was formed in February 2023.
The task force is a joint operation between the district attorney and the Sheriff’s Office to prosecute those who interfere with elections. The effort was organized by Republican county leaders and has been criticized by Democrats, including Commissioner Alisa Simmons, as unnecessary and partisan.
Simmons asked for an update on the task force’s work during Tuesday’s commissioner meeting. Neither Sheriff Bill Waybourn nor District Attorney Phil Sorrells attended. Instead, county administrator Chandler Merritt gave the briefing.
In addition to the 12 complaints investigated by Sorrells’ office, the Sheriff’s Office has fielded 70 complaints, Merritt said.
Merritt said there is no designated budget for the task force and that no full-time positions are dedicated to it. Three attorneys with average salaries of $106,000, and at least one investigator earning about $74,000, work on the task force.
Simmons called it “remarkable” that neither the DA nor sheriff gave the briefing Tuesday.
“They were such enthusiastic supporters of having this task force, so I expected to be briefed by them,” Simmons said.
A month ago, Sorrells did brief the commissioners on why his office sought to reverse a ruling that overturned Crystal Mason’s illegal voting conviction. Sorrells said he intended to send a message to would-be illegal voters.
Mason has been in a legal battle with the Tarrant County DA’s office since 2018 over a provisional ballot she cast in 2016 despite being a felon, which makes her ineligible in Texas.
Simmons also asked Merritt for the status on a complaint filed with the election integrity unit against Angel Hidalgo, a conservative-backed candidate who ran for Mansfield school board despite being ineligible.
Merritt said he had no information about Hidalgo’s case and was not “privy to active investigation details.”
The Star-Telegram obtained a March 28 complaint to the election integrity unit involving Hidalgo’s ineligibility and his vote in the Republican primary in March, despite not being a registered voter in Tarrant County until March 25.
Hidalgo lost the election in May after the school district declared him ineligible but allowed him to remain on the ballot.
The Star-Telegram reported In February that the unit was considering three cases of alleged voter fraud and in April that the unit was investigating three people — all in their 70s — who voted twice during the March primary.
This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 9:55 AM.
