TX: GOP donor, voter fraud activist is a finalist to run elections in Tarrant County

[RandySF]

Tarrant County officials are considering hiring as election chief a prominent Republican donor and activist who has baselessly criticized the security of the county’s elections and appears to have no previous experience running an election.

Karen Wiseman and two other applicants — Clinton Ludwig, the county clerk’s chief deputy since 2017, and Fred Crosley, the former chief financial officer of the county’s public transit service, Trinity Metro — are finalists for the job. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported the finalists’ names Tuesday.

The county received at least 20 applications for the position through its online recruitment portal after elections administrator Heider Garcia submitted his resignation in April.

Garcia, known as one of the most respected elections directors in the state, said in his letter of resignation he was leaving due to political pressure from his new boss, conservative Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare. Since former President Donald Trump began to make baseless allegations of fraud in connection with the outcome of the 2020 election, Tarrant County — the state’s largest swing county — has been at the center of unfounded election fraud conspiracies.

In a text message to Votebeat, Garcia said county officials’ selection of a heavily partisan finalist for the job such as Wiseman — who, like O’Hare, has been a top Tarrant County GOP donor — did not surprise him.

Garcia said such politically motivated decisions are what drove him to resign. There’s “an expectation that the [elections administrator] will play politics,” he said and added that he hopes there are “enough reasonable members of the Elections Commission that will not vote” for a partisan candidate, given that the job is meant to be nonpartisan.



https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/14/tarrant-county-elections-administrator-finalist/

[MagickMuffin]

1. Well Tarrant County is f'd

We just turned a pale shade of blue and if any partisan hack with no experience well, you know what the outcome will be.


I wish Heider Garcia hadn’t resigned but alas he didn’t like the political pressure from ol Timmy O’Hare, which little Timmy shouldn’t be involved in. I also wish Steve Raborn hadn’t left, he was extremely good at his job. I enjoyed our training sessions for running the elections.

While I’m wishing

I wish every voter had to attend election training, perhaps then people would know how elections work.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Tarrant County picks deputy county clerk to run elections, eschewing GOP activist

It appears that the election denier was NOT selected which is good news

Link to tweet

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/16/tarrant-county-elections-administrator/

Tarrant County officials on Friday selected a new elections administrator: the county’s chief deputy clerk, a retired U.S. Marine with no previous experience running elections.

Members of the county’s Election Commission, a group of bipartisan officials tasked with filling the job, voted unanimously to appoint Clinton Ludwig. Former elections director Heider Garcia submitted his resignation in April, citing political pressure. Ludwig will begin his new role Aug. 1.....

The county received 35 applicants, but the majority didn’t have election administration experience, leaving the commission struggling to find a candidate prepared to oversee elections for more than 1 million registered voters. Ludwig was one of three finalists. Another, Karen Wiseman, is a prominent Republican donor and activist who has sued the county and Garcia over election records and has baselessly criticized the security of the county’s elections. The third finalist was Fred Crosley, the former chief financial officer of the county’s public transit service, Trinity Metro.....

Voters in Tarrant County, which is historically deep-red, favored President Joe Biden over Donald Trump by 1,826 votes in 2020, the only exception to Republican victories down the ballot. Local and national voter fraud activists have questioned election results in the county and have accused Garcia of malfeasance.

[RandySF]

3. The Tribune noted his lack of election experience

but I'm not too worried as long as he keeps a solid staff.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. No one on the list had election experience

I am glad that the election denier was not selected