Texas Widens Scope of Election Fraud Probe in Dallas

DALLAS (CN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday he will join the Dallas County district attorney’s investigation of possible voter fraud in West Dallas.

Paxton told reporters his office will expand the scope of Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson’s investigation of whether elderly voters’ ballots were manipulated.

“Recently, there have been too many questions raised about elections in Dallas County,” Paxton said at a news conference. “I am honored today that District Attorney Johnson has invited my office to assist in their investigation, and we will do everything within our resources and abilities to solidify trust in every election here and around the state.”

State District Judge Carl Ginsberg ordered the sequester of absentee ballots before the June 10 runoff election for cities and schools, resulting in hundreds of votes not being included in tallies on election night and results being delayed.

Ginsberg’s order came at the behest of prosecutors after several elderly voters in West Dallas complained about receiving absentee ballots in the mail that they did not request. Others complained they were unable to vote at the polls on Election Day due to someone else mailing in an absentee vote in their name.

Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole said in April that the allegations are taken “very seriously” and that the integrity of the voting process is “our utmost concern.” She has declined to comment further, saying her office has cooperated with Johnson’s. Pippins-Poole said two weeks ago that Russian hackers tried and failed to hack into Dallas County servers before last November’s presidential election.

She told The Dallas Morning News that federal officials informed the county before the election of around 600 suspicious Internet Protocol addresses possibly linked to the Russians. She said the county scanned its system for the addresses and found 17 matches that tried to get access.

Johnson urged voters to “believe in the system” and to know “their vote actually counts.” She pledged to “get to the bottom” of what is happening in Dallas County.

“I am confident that [Paxton] and his investigative and prosecutorial units are committed to assisting us, committed to helping us deal with this issue, and get to the bottom of what’s happening here in Dallas County as they have done so in other areas in Texas,” Johnson said. “We believe as they assist us that we will be able to restore faith in our electoral process here in Dallas County.”

Follow @davejourno

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