Election Fraud Prosecution at an ‘All-Time High’: Texas Attorney General’s Office

[IceWizard]

Mail-in ballots in their envelopes await processing at the
Los Angeles County Registrar Recorders' mail-in ballot
processing center in Pomona, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2020.
(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)






Election Fraud Prosecution at an ‘All-Time High’:
Texas Attorney General’s Office



BY JACK PHILLIPS
April 6, 2021
Updated: April 6, 2021



An official in Texas’ Attorney General’s office testified during a state House hearing that
the number of election fraud cases in Texas is at an “all-time high.”

The amount is “higher than our historical average by a long shot,” said Jonathan White,
the head of the election fraud agency within the Texas Attorney General’s Special
Prosecution Division, to the Texas House Elections Committee last week, reported The Texan.

When asked by a state lawmaker if there were trends in election fraud prosecutions,
White said that “have 510 offenses pending against 43 defendants in court right now,”
saying it’s “for several reasons probably.” He did not elaborate.

White said that about 80 percent of those pending cases involve alleged mail-in ballot fraud,
and 60 percent of resolved cases involved mail-in voting.

The attorney general’s office prosecuted 534 election fraud-related cases committed by
155 people since 2005, according to the report.

“I think we could both agree that 99.9 percent of people are honest and forthright,
they don’t cheat at elections. They don’t go around murdering people or committing
aggravated robberies, either,” White said in the hearing.

Last week, the Republican-led Texas state Senate approved legislation that would ban
mail-in ballot drop boxes and most drive-thru voting, a measure that Republicans say
“ensures election integrity.” Democrats have said it’s voter suppression and makes it
harder for people with disabilities and ethnic minorities to vote.

The measure, according to state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Republican, is “designed to
address areas through process where bad actors can take advantage because we want
the people of Texas to be confident their elections are fair, honest, and open.”
The legislation “standardizes and clarifies” voting rules so “every Texan has a fair and
equal opportunity to vote, regardless of where they live in the state.”

It also will require voters who have disabilities to prove that they can’t access polls in
person in order to qualify for a mail-in ballot, and would also require authorization
from top state leaders to be alerted about any private funding of more than $1,000
that is given to election departments, according to KXAN.

Democrats said the bill will lead to voter suppression.

“Every eligible Texan deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box—regardless
of their race, ethnicity, disability, gender, age, income, or party. SB 7 makes it harder
for every Texan to vote,” a statement from the state Democratic Party said.
“We aggressively fought this bill because we know it will disenfranchise racial and
ethnic minority voters and voters with disabilities, including veterans.”