The work of Tarrant County鈥檚 Republican-led remains unclear after the county sheriff and district attorney declined to share details at a public meeting Tuesday.
County commissioners were scheduled to hear a briefing on the task force鈥檚 work during their June 9 meeting. Sheriff Bill Waybourn and District Attorney Phil Sorrells, who oversee the unit, didn鈥檛 show up because they weren鈥檛 given enough time to prepare.
鈥淲e received word back from the sheriff鈥檚 office and the DA鈥檚 office that with the shortage of time of the notice to present that they would not be able to present at this meeting,鈥� county administrator Chandler Merritt told commissioners.
If given 鈥渕ore time to adequately prepare,鈥� both the sheriff and district attorney would be willing to give the briefing at the next commissioners meeting, Merritt added.
Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Democrat who requested the briefing, questioned the elected officials鈥� absences, saying the task force鈥檚 work should be 鈥渢ransparent, accountable and subject to public review.鈥� She wants to know what the task force has completed since its creation in 2023 and how many complaints or cases it has reviewed.
鈥淩outine oversight requires information, and residents deserve to know how this task force is operating, what it has accomplished, and how it works to serve the public,鈥� Simmons said.
Spokesperson Robbie Hoy confirmed via text message that Waybourn couldn鈥檛 be present because of the short notice. The office was asked to 鈥減rovide a lot of information which we didn鈥檛 have readily available and would have taken time to gather,鈥� Hoy said.
A spokesperson for the district attorney鈥檚 office did not immediately return a request for comment.
It鈥檚 unclear when Simmons鈥� office notified the sheriff and district attorney of the requested briefing. Simmons鈥� spokesperson did not return a request for the date the offices were notified.
As of 2024, the task force was made up of one sheriff鈥檚 investigator and three attorneys from the district attorney鈥檚 office. The unit investigates election integrity complaints sent to either office.
GOP County Judge Tim O鈥橦are launched the task force with Waybourn and Sorrells, both Republicans, to make it easier for the public to report voter fraud. O鈥橦are is , and Simmons is running against him.
Neither O鈥橦are nor commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez commented on the absences or scheduled briefing.
Commissioner Roderick Miles said it鈥檚 important to 鈥渋nspect what you expect.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 value in being able to inspect and critically review the information to make sure it's meeting this court鈥檚 expectations and this community鈥檚 expectations,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 too much to ask.鈥�
Waybourn and Sorrells were also absent from a scheduled briefing on the task force in 2024. At the time, Merritt told commissioners the task force received 82 complaints of alleged voter fraud but filed zero charges over 15 months.
Since, Simmons said, there have been no public updates about the unit鈥檚 work or what it鈥檚 costing the county.
Officials previously said the task force鈥檚 creation would have 鈥渓ittle to no budgetary impact鈥� because it didn鈥檛 require new staff positions.
There have been no verified reports of widespread voter fraud in Tarrant County.
In February at county elections administrator Clint Ludwig鈥檚 request, a group of about 50 volunteers hand-counted the roughly 95,000 ballots cast in the Texas Senate District 9 runoff election that saw a . The audit, intended to verify the election鈥檚 integrity, .
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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