It didn’t take long for Trump-backed Republican Tim O’Hare to raise a MAGA flag over Tarrant County. At a press conference this afternoon, barely six weeks after being sworn in as County Judge, O’Hare is teaming up with MAGA extremist Sheriff Bill Waybourn and Trump-endorsed DA Phil Sorrells to create a voter fraud enforcement unit.
There are no confirmed instances of voter fraud in Tarrant County. In fact, after former Abbott-appointed Secretary of State John Scott audited urban county elections, he singled out the current Tarrant County Elections Administrator as the “prototype” for other counties to follow.
O’Hare’s effort is not about election security, it’s about his own political insecurity. He’s feeding red meat to his MAGA base to head off the steadily improving performance of Democratic candidates in Tarrant County. He doesn’t want to protect voters, he wants to intimidate and mislead them.
Journalists attending or covering O’Hare’s press conference should consider these questions:
1. Do you have any examples of significant or widespread voter fraud in Tarrant County?
2. Do you agree with former Republican Secretary of State John Scott that Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia is the prototype for other counties to follow?
3. You, DA Sorrells, and Sheriff Waybourn are partisan Republican elected officials. You are a past Chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party. Why should Tarrant County voters trust partisan office-holders to oversee a taxpayer funded voter fraud unit?
4. Would you support such a task force overseen by three Democratic officeholders?
5. How much will the voter fraud task force cost Tarrant taxpayers?
6. Will these taxpayer dollars be newly appropriated or taken from other county functions?
7. If so, which county functions will be underfunded?
8. Sheriff Waybourn will be on the ballot in 2024. Shouldn’t he recuse himself or anyone from his office from participating in enforcement efforts that might affect the result of the 2024 Primary and General elections?
9. Have you been in contact with the Republican Party of Texas or the local Republican party regarding this matter?
10. Have you been in contact with Attorney General Ken Paxton or his office regarding this matter?
