Election fraud cases in Texas at all time high

 The Texan:

Jonathan White, the chief of the election fraud section in the Texas Attorney General’s Special Prosecution Division, testified during a meeting of the Texas House Elections Committee on Thursday that the number of active election fraud cases is “higher than our historical average by a long shot.”

White was offering his perspective as a neutral witness as the committee considered House Bill (HB) 6, legislation by Chairman Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) that would strengthen penalties for voter fraud, add protections for poll watchers, and give more priority to election fraud claims in Texas courts.

Rep. Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) asked White whether there were “trends developing” in election fraud prosecutions.

“I can say that our cases are currently at an all-time high, and that’s for several reasons probably, but we have more cases today. We have 510 offenses pending against 43 defendants in court right now,” White testified, noting that cases are also getting more complicated.

In contrast, the attorney general’s office has successfully prosecuted a total of 534 election violations committed by 155 persons since 2005.

White advised that 80 percent of those pending cases concern alleged mail ballot fraud, and 60 percent of resolved cases were related to vote by mail.

In response to concerns that HB 6 will criminalize honest mistakes, White emphasized that the attorney general’s office does not play “gotcha” and that an “intent element” is necessary for voter fraud prosecutions.

While the number of alleged fraud occurrences is minuscule compared to the 11.3 million votes cast in the 2020 presidential election in Texas, supporters of election integrity laws, such as Clardy and Rep. Mike Schofield (R-Katy), contend that the number of prosecutions is not necessarily a reliable indicator of how often voter fraud occurs.

In addition, statewide elections are not the only contests potentially affected by fraud. In local races with smaller margins of victory for the prevailing candidates, incidents of fraud can be more pernicious.

Supporters of election security measures also believe in pursuing what the bill calls the “purity of the ballot box.”
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Democrats in Texas seem to think the vote by mail system gives them an advantage.  Most of the jurisdictions that used mass vote by mail schemes were controlled by Democrats in 2020.