LWVTC's Letter to County Judge and Commissioner’s Court Members
LWVTC | Published on 3/1/2023
February, 2023
The Honorable Tim O’Hare
The Honorable Members of the Commissioners Court
Tarrant County Administration Building
100 E. Weatherford Street, Rm 502A
Fort Worth, Texas 76196
Dear County Judge O’Hare and Commissioners,
The League of Women Voters of Tarrant County (LWVTC)
is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization. Our mission is to
empower voters and defend democracy. We write to you
today based on our organization’s concern for safe, secure,
and accurate elections, accessible to all registered voters.
Our Tarrant County Elections Department is one of the
most efficient and transparent election administration
offices in the state. Our elections office has been subjected
to multiple audits that found no significant discrepancies.
In April 2022, the League of Women Voters of Texas
honored Mr. Garcia for his outstanding service as Elections
Administrator of Tarrant County.
The league supports open government and inclusion of
the public in governance decisions. The closed-door news
conference held on Wednesday, February 8th, by our newly
elected Tarrant County Judge, District Attorney (DA) and the
Tarrant County Sheriff to announce their plan to establish
a voter fraud task force, is a poor example of democratic
governance.
First, the state forensic audit failed to find any examples
of widespread voter fraud. The DA’s office currently has
personnel trained to investigate the rare instances of voter
fraud allegations.
Second, establishing a new unit should include participation
from all county commissioners and,
Third, government meetings must be open to the public and
allow public comments, as per the Texas Open Meetings
Act.
Texas is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Texas
Public Information Act, the league encourages the
county leadership to review this important legislation
as government transparency is a critical component for
democratic governance.
The league supports County’s leadership in assuring that
our elections are conducted legally, with accuracy and
transparency.
Sincerely,
Angela Rainey
President
League of Women Voters of Tarrant County