Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday afternoon that his office will assist the Dallas County District Attorney in the ongoing investigation into allegations of widespread voter fraud reported during the May 6 city council election in several precincts.
At a press conference held at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Paxton told reporters that Dallas District Attorney Faith Johnson requested assistance from the Office of the Attorney General as she expands the scope of her probe into alleged voter fraud in connection with absentee mail-in ballots.
“Nothing is more sacred to our democracy than the integrity of our voting process,” said Paxton, emphasizing the importance of fair elections that accurately reflect the will of Texas voters.
Breitbart Texas reported Dallas County officials opened a criminal investigation into the May 6 election following persistent voter fraud allegations surrounding mail-in ballots in Democrat races. The alleged voter harvesting purportedly targeted elderly residents in hotly contested city council races in two precincts. Amid revelations that officials sequestered 700 suspicious absentee ballots, which placed the results of these local elections in limbo temporarily, shocking audio emerged suggesting the corruption may have reached into the Dallas County Elections Department and affected the cities of Dallas and Grand Prairie.
On June 2, Johnson’s office issued the first arrest warrant of the investigation to Miguel Hernandez, 27, for forging the signature of at least one voter after collecting the individual’s blank absentee ballot.
“Recently, there have been too many questions raised about elections in Dallas County,” stated Paxton who, at the press conference, did not discuss what role his office will play in the probe only that he will support Johnson with what she needs.
“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,” he added.
Johnson voiced that assistance from the Attorney General will enable her office to broaden and deepen the scope of the voter fraud investigation into Dallas county precincts.
“I want every voter to believe in the system, and I want them to know that their vote actually counts. We are committed to safeguard the voters and safeguard their vote here in Dallas County,” she commented.
The Dallas D.A. thanked Paxton for “lending” his staff so they may “get to the bottom of what’s happening here in Dallas County as they have done so in other areas of Texas.”
The Public Interest Legal Foundation, a nonprofit firm that litigates election integrity matters, tweeted support for General Paxton’s move and suggested that Austin take a closer look at improving security components to the vote-by-mail system used in Texas.
We support @KenPaxtonTX‘s move to assist in #Dallas #VoterFraud investigation. TX needs #VoterID components built into mail voting like KS
— PublicInterestLegal (@PILFoundation) June 29, 2017
In October, the state opened an investigation amid allegations of voter fraud, suspicious mail-in ballots, and vote harvesting schemes in neighboring Tarrant County.
During the press conference, Johnson reiterated that with the assistance of the Attorney General’s office “we will be able to restore faith in our electoral process, here in Dallas County.”
Neither she nor Paxton took questions from the news media Wednesday. They made their announcement with other top state staffers from the Attorney General’s office present as well.
Breitbart Texas reported that Governor Greg Abbott called for legislation to crack down on mail-in ballot fraud for the upcoming July 18 special session of the 85th Legislature. State Representative Craig Goldman (R-Fort Worth) and Senator Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) plan to co-author a bill to strengthen penalties for this crime.
Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Twitter.
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