A Carrollton candidate who confessed to committing voter fraud in a past election is back on the mayoral ballot this May. While the situation is unusual, it’s not unlawful.
In 2024, Zul Mohamed pleaded guilty to more than 100 felony counts of voter fraud in his failed 2020 campaign for Carrollton mayor. A jury sentenced him to four years in state prison while agreeing with his attorney that Mohamed is mentally ill.
But Mohamed is appealing parts of his conviction and sentencing, arguing that the sting operation used to trace a mail-ballot fraud scheme back to him was constitutionally suspect, as is the court’s condition of probation that bars Mohamed from engaging in election-related activities.
Under Texas election law, a person is ineligible to be a candidate if they have been “finally convicted of a felony” or determined by a court to be “mentally incapacitated.”
Neither applies to Mohamed.
Voter Fraud Scheme
In October 2020, Mohamed was caught with a box of fraudulently obtained mail ballots.
The scheme cooked up by Mohamed involved submitting forged ballot-by-mail applications and directing the ballots to the address of a commercial mailbox he leased using a fake ID.
An employee in the Denton County Elections Office noticed the suspicious applications—all going to the same address, many with similar handwriting, and requested in the names of voters who had already received ballots.
Election officials worked with local law enforcement to identify the source of the forged applications and track the requested ballots back to Mohamed. He was arrested before any fraudulent ballots could be cast or counted.
After four years of legal wrangling, Mohamed pleaded guilty to 84 counts of fraudulent use of an application for ballot by mail (three were later dismissed) and 25 violations of method of returning a marked ballot.
Mohamed requested a jury trial to determine his sentence.
After a three-day trial in December 2024, a jury sentenced Mohamed to 10 years of probation plus 180 hours of community service for the ballot application offenses and four years in state prison for the charges of possessing other voters’ ballots/carrier envelopes without the voters’ request.
Defense attorney Kyle Therrian argued that Mohamed is mentally ill and should receive probation, so he’d be more likely to receive treatment for his delusional disorder.
Jurors determined a combination of prison time and probation was needed to deter fraud and force Mohamed to get help for his mental health issues.
Appeals
Mohamed appealed both the validity of the more serious ballot-possession charges and the part of his probation for the ballot-application charges that prohibits him from engaging in political activity.
He was released on bonds pending appeal totaling $532,500. The Seventh Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear oral arguments on April 1.
More Felony Charges
On the first day of his voter fraud trial, while waiting for prospective jurors to arrive in court, Mohamed told Texas Scorecard his attorney had “coerced” him to enter a guilty plea.
“I don’t want probation. I don’t care if they lock me up. It’s a matter of principle,” he said.
It turned out the jurors’ delay that day was due to dozens of Denton County residents receiving fake jury duty notices, which the Denton County Sheriff’s Office traced back to Mohamed.
Now Mohamed is also facing six counts of impersonating a public servant, a third-degree felony.
He posted a $25,000 bond and was released again from the Denton County Jail. His next court date for those charges is set for May 14 before 462nd District Judge Lee Ann Breading.
Upcoming Election
Denton County Elections Administrator Frank Phillips told Texas Scorecard his office is aware of Mohamed’s candidacy and “remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of election security and integrity.”
“Denton County Elections operates under Tier 1 election security protocols consistent with best practices in U.S. county-level election infrastructure,” stated Phillips. “We employ layered safeguards that include procedures and monitoring systems designed to detect and prevent irregularities or unlawful activity.”
“Our responsibility is to administer elections in a fair, secure, and transparent manner for every voter and every candidate, and we will continue to apply these protocols uniformly to ensure the integrity of the electoral process,” he added.
In November 2020, Mohamed received about 20 percent of the vote against Carrollton’s then-Mayor Kevin Falconer.
Now he is facing incumbent Mayor Steve Babick—and multiple felony charges.
According to his latest financial report, Mohamed has spent $285 of his own money on his 2026 campaign.
In addition to the mayoral race, three Carrollton City Council seats are up for election in May. Five bond propositions totaling $235 million are also on the ballot.
Election Day is May 2. Early voting runs from Monday, April 20, through Tuesday, April 28.
Complete election information is found on the City of Carrollton’s website.
