Wednesday’s front page of the Austin American Statesman reads like something from the Soviet Union’s Pravda, with bureaucrats bravely defending the absolute security of Texas’ elections. Unmentioned in the article was overwhelming evidence presented this week that “thousands” of forged mail-in ballots have swayed elections in one of the state’s largest counties.

Austin American Statesman, Oct. 19, 2016

Nothing to see here… move along…

Why did both the Statesman and representatives of the office of the Secretary of State refuse to acknowledge that Tarrant County is the site of a massive voter fraud investigation that saw a race for state representative apparently affected by fraudulent ballots? Why did they ignore that Hill County this year saw more votes cast in the GOP primary than there were voters?

As we first reported, and has been subsequently reported by the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star Telegram, an unprecedented assault on the integrity of our elections appears to have been taking place in one of Texas’ most populous counties: Tarrant County. Yet not a mention of this fact in the newspaper based less than two miles from the state capitol.

Worse, though, are comments from the Secretary of State’s office. (The SoS is Carlos H. Cascos, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott last year.)

“The amount of collusion it would take among a wide swath of people and neighbors and Texans you and I know to dramatically influence the election on a statewide level would be essentially impossible,” Alicia Pierce, Texas secretary of state office spokeswoman, told the Statesman.

Except state-level races are being affected. And since no election officials seems to be looking for problems, it’s pretty irresponsible to suggest anything is impossible.

Meanwhile, speaking of irresponsible, Travis County’s election chief (Dana DeBeauvoir, a Democrat), told the Austin Pravda that it’s “inappropriate for anyone involved in the [election] process to make this loose talk about the integrity of voting.”

But, apparently, forging thousands of mail-in ballots doesn’t merit concern.

Michael Quinn Sullivan

Michael Quinn Sullivan is the publisher of Texas Scorecard. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M, and an Eagle Scout. Previously, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine contributor, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank vice president. Michael and his wife have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a dog. Michael is the author of three books, including "Reflections on Life and Liberty."

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