Fact Checking Claims of Voter Fraud in Texas’ GOP Primary

Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw won his GOP primary in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, but supporters of his challenger, Jameson Ellis, are blaming potential voter fraud for the outcome. Ellis also lost to Crenshaw in a 2022 primary.

It is true that Ellis received no votes in two of Harris County’s precincts. However, this is a normal—if somewhat rare—occurrence in many elections and not proof of voter fraud.

One of the two precincts where Ellis received no votes—Precinct 1165—is made up only of a segment of a creek with no residential or commercial properties. The other—Precinct 1108—covers a portion of land between Interstate 10 and Texas state highway Spur 330 containing predominantly commercial buildings as well as a 250-unit apartment complex and residential street with approximately five detached homes. A representative for the Harris County Clerk’s office, when asked by The Dispatch Fact Check, was unsure why such a precinct exists.

Zero votes were cast for either of the Republican House primary candidates in precinct 1165, and only a single vote was cast in precinct 1108, which went to Crenshaw. Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump also each received a single vote in precinct 1108 in their respective primary races, meaning it is likely that only a single Republican ballot was cast in the precinct. Peter Filler—the district’s unchallenged Democratic primary candidate—received zero votes in the same precinct.

It is also true that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg was turned away from voting after poll workers informed her that a ballot had already been cast in her name. However, the issue was later resolved and was not caused by a systemic problem. The Harris County clerk revealed that Ogg’s longtime partner—Olivia Jordan—was registered to vote under the same address as Ogg and accidentally voted early under Ogg’s name instead of her own. “We were able to assist DA Ogg with rectifying this voter error so that she can cast her ballot,” Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said in a statement. “The vote that DA Ogg’s partner cast has been transferred to her own name.”

Ogg lost her Democratic primary race for the county’s district attorney to Sean Teare, receiving approximately 42,000 votes to Teare’s 125,000 as of March 6.

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