Elections in Texas are not secure, and in the past, shady operators have stolen elections through mail-in ballot fraud. As Democrats nationwide push for massive mail-in balloting, Texans must act now and next year to guard the integrity of the cornerstone of our republic.
“The Democrats have run an ongoing campaign to undermine trust in the result of the 2020 election,” said Daniel Greer, executive director for Direct Action Texas, a nonprofit organization that specializes in election integrity.
What is “election integrity?”
Christine Welborn, DAT’s director of election integrity, says it’s “as simple as one eligible voter equals one vote,” and they’ve been spearheading this effort in Texas for years.
DAT was originally focused on fiscal issues and government transparency, and went as far as helping candidates who ran on those issues—but the 2015 election for a North Texas water board changed all of that.
“We became suspicious when the election results came in and our candidates lost by large margins, contrary to the numbers we had estimated,” Welborn recalled. “Our suspicions deepened when reporters would call and ask if we ‘figured it out yet’ and mentioned ‘the Fort Worth Way.’”
“We later discovered that meant mail-in ballot harvesting.”
DAT’s website defines mail-in ballot harvesting as this:
“Ballot harvesting targets unknowing participants in the form of registered voters who are coerced to vote for a certain candidate, or who aren’t aware their ballot is being stolen and cast by mail. Many times, a harvested ballot is one that would not have otherwise been cast. These votes are the direct products of the harvesting operation. Harvesting can be done legally, but that is typically not the case.”
DAT’s investigation revealed an unbelievably large vote-harvesting operation.
Welborn said, “Governor Abbott called it the ‘largest voter fraud investigation in Texas history.’ Our work in Tarrant County led to more in Hill County, Harrison County, Dallas County, Nueces County, and more.”
Working with State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills) and State Rep. Craig Goldman (R–Fort Worth), DAT helped pass election integrity reform that closed loopholes, changed penalties from misdemeanors to felonies, and made it so election fraud cases are now treated as organized crime rings.
“It opened the door to use the low-level harvesters to go after those at the top [who were] financing the scheme,” Welborn said.
DAT’s work thus far has helped increase the integrity of our elections, but they’re still not secure.
With the upcoming presidential election, the fight is intensifying as Democrats have been pushing to expand mail-in balloting, such as with Harris County’s plans to send 2.37 million mail-ballot applications to all of the county’s registered voters.
This Democrat push isn’t happening just in Texas, but across the nation.
“Texas has real issues to address when it comes to securing elections, including verifying voter rolls,” Greer said. “During the 2019 legislature session, election administrators testified that harsher penalties were needed to curb mail-in ballot fraud.”
Greer also found the fraudsters are refusing to give up.
“Because of the work of DAT, vote harvesters are changing tactics, shifting to in-person coercion masquerading as assistance, especially in South Texas.”
This raises the question of what our elected officials in Texas should do to make our elections more secure.
“Clean the voter rolls,” Greer pointed out.
“Ensure that all voters are eligible,” Welborn explained. “It is a list maintenance process. It is an ongoing process to update the voter rolls.”
Greer added we must also “clarify election law where it comes to voting by mail with a disability (this has been abused in past elections).”
With the revelations DAT has uncovered over the years and President Donald Trump openly talking about voter fraud, citizens have felt some concern about this situation. But are Texas’ elected officials also taking it seriously?
“The short answer to this question is ‘no,’” Greer replied. “There was a time in Texas when elected officials led on the issue of election integrity (think Voter ID), but today the fear of being canceled by the media has cowed most elected officials from action.”
Texans didn’t elect our representatives to serve the media; we elected them to serve we the people.
“Texans will need to start where we left off in 2019,” Greer said. “The marquee election integrity bill from last session can be reconstituted and put forth in 2020.”
In January of 2021, the Texas Legislature will come back into session. What should Texans ask their state officials to do in terms of election integrity?
“Call your lawmakers and the governor and demand election integrity reforms,” Greer said.
We’re still some time away from January, and the presidential election is upon us with many state and local elections on the ballot. What can Texans do now to make this year’s election more secure against Democrat fraud? Welborn says knowledge is power.
“Be prepared and know the current voting protocols,” she advises, adding you can find these by going to Direct Action Texas or the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You can also stay current on election integrity with a free DAT email subscription.
What do you do with this knowledge if you notice something wrong at the voting booths?
“If you have an issue at a polling location, contact someone immediately,” Welborn advised. “Once a ballot is fully cast, it cannot be changed.”
“Your first point of contact should be the election judge. If he or she cannot resolve the problem, contact the elections administrator. If the problem is still not resolved, call your party’s county chair. If all else fails, call our hotline at 877-267-VOTE (8683).”
“Elections are the cornerstone of our republic,” Greer added. “Without trust in the elections of elected officials, the whole thing comes crashing down. The integrity of elections cannot be understated, and the logical conclusion of a widespread lack of trust is catastrophic.”
This presidential election, it will be up to Texans to guard our election’s integrity and to carry that fight on into the 2021 Texas Legislative session.
