This judge read a claim of voter fraud in North Texas. Then he threw out the case

A lawsuit challenging whether a Democrat hoping to replace Joe Barton in Congress forged signatures on petitions has come to an end — for now.

A visiting judge in Waxahachie has dismissed a lawsuit Democrat Ruby Faye Woolridge filed questioning her primary runoff loss for the 6th Congressional District to Jana Lynne Sanchez.

The lawsuit was dismissed in part because the court said it wasn’t filed in a timely manner. And the judge called on Woolridge to pay for Sanchez’s attorney fees.

“I knew this lawsuit was frivolous from the beginning and I’m not focused on it,” said Sanchez, who faces Republican Ron Wright in November. “That is not important.

“What is important is that people understand Democrats are ready to win this seat and we don’t need these kinds of distractions from people who are helping the Republican Party.”

Woolridge, a longtime community activist, said she will decide this week whether to appeal.

“There’s a lot of moving parts,” Woolridge said. “I don’t want to do anything else to hurt or harm the Democratic Party. But what troubles me is there have been a plethora of voter fraud cases.

“It still troubles me about the integrity of the signatures.”

Sanchez said she hopes Woolridge “can finally move on” because this lawsuit is “completely without merit.”

“If she wants another judge to tell her that, fine,” she said. “I’m going to stay focused on winning this district. ... She’s not winning any friends with this.”

The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, who came under fire last year for a nude photo shared online and private messages with sexual overtones with a female constituent. He announced in November that he would not seek another term in office.

The district includes part of east and southwest Fort Worth, most of Arlington and Mansfield and all of Ellis and Navarro counties.

The lawsuit

In the lawsuit, Woolridge claimed that Sanchez “knowingly filed petitions with fraudulent signatures” in order to secure a spot on the March primary ballot.

She said she didn’t learn about the “fraudulent conduct” until after the primary election. That’s when she said she learned some people weren’t able to vote in the primary because others had already voted using their names through mail-in ballots.

She asked for a special election or second runoff election to be held without Sanchez’s name on the ballot.

Sanchez, a public relations specialist, has long called the lawsuit frivolous.

“Anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason,” she said. “That, in no way, implies it was merited. The judge was so clear she had no cause.

“I’ve spoken to so many Democrats who are angry at Ruby. She’s helping the Republicans.”

Sanchez won the May 22 Democratic primary runoff election against Woolridge with 53.1 percent of the vote. Tarrant County Tax Assessor Collector Ron Wright won the Republican Party’s nomination in the May 22 runoff and will face Sanchez in the general election.

Moving forward

Visiting Judge Stephen B. Ables called on Woolridge to pay Sanchez’s attorney fees of $3,000 and sanctioned her $1,000 citing the Texas Citizens Participation Act, which address frivolous lawsuits.

“Our case was dismissed because of the timeliness about it,” Woolridge said. “They never addressed the forgeries. My attorneys are perplexed as to whether to go forward.”

She said she’s especially frustrated because she had a hard time getting information she needed for the lawsuit from the state Democratic Party.

Woolridge has an online request for funding to help pay for a potential appeal on the FundedJustice website.

“With litigation cost rising and an important hearing date fast approaching we need to raise $5,000.00 to combat these issues,” she posted online. “Democracy cost(s) money. We are asking you to join this fight for fair and just elections so that justice will prevail.”

As of Monday afternoon, Woolridge raised $1,019.

This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 4:17 PM.