‘Voter Fraud Is Real’: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Slams Overturned Houston Judicial Election

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called out voter fraud, “especially in Houston,” after a judge ruled that more than 1,400 votes in a 2022 district court race were invalid, forcing the results to be thrown out.

“Voter fraud is real. Especially in Houston,” the governor posted on X on Saturday. “The court has found that 1,430 illegal votes were cast in the race for the 180th District Court.”

Judge David Peeples ordered Harris County to hold another election for the 180th District Court judge in May after it was found that 1,430 illegal votes were cast in the race, the Texas Tribune reported. 

The ruling came after Republican candidate Tami Pierce filed a legal challenge against the results after narrowly losing to Judge DaSean Jones (D). Jones won by only 449 votes.

According to Judge Peeples, an investigation found that 983 votes were invalid because they were from people who lived outside Harris County or had other residency-related issues, 445 were invalid because voters did not show a valid ID, and 48 mail-in ballots lacked required signatures or were delivered after the deadline. 

It is unclear which candidate received the majority of the invalid votes.

“The Judge hearing the case ordered a redo of the election. We must end voter fraud,” Abbott concluded his post, along with a report on the topic from the Houston Chronicle. 

Pierce’s lawyer, Paul Simpson, celebrated the judge’s ruling as a win for election integrity. 

“We are gratified by the court’s judgment that Tami Pierce deserves a new election,” Simpson said in a statement that the Tribune obtained. “Voluminous, detailed evidence compiled by witness Steve Carlin and dozens of other volunteers revealed many problems with Harris County’s troubled November 2022 election.”

Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel also boasted of the victory in a news release:

Judge Peeples’s decision to order a new election confirms what the Harris County GOP has been saying since 2022 — The previous election administrations’ handling of our elections was beyond negligent, resulting in voters’ confidence in our elections being damaged.

Oliver Brown, Jones’ lawyer, said they will work to appeal the ruling, claiming that “it will be overturned because Pierce did not meet the legal standard” in a statement that the Tribune obtained.