District Attorney Ogg launches investigation into Harris County election, asks Texas Rangers to help

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is launching an investigation into "alleged irregularities" during last week's election after receiving a referral from the Texas Secretary of State's office. Ogg sent a letter to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw asking for the Texas Rangers' assistance on Monday, the same day Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation and the Harris County Republican Party filed a lawsuit accusing Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum and the county of numerous violations of the Texas Election Code. Ogg in a statement said her office is statutorily required to investigate and the results of the investigation will be turned over to a Harris County grand jury. "It is my duty as the elected district attorney to follow the evidence and follow the law, and I will," Ogg said.

The allegations include paper shortages at 23 polling locations, releasing early voting results before polls closed at 8 p.m., the improper disposition of damaged ballots and inadequate instructions on how poll workers were to manage instances in which the two-page ballots were not completely or adequately scanned into machines. Under Harris County's countywide voting system, residents had 782 locations to cast their ballots on Election Day. The GOP lawsuit claims "countless" voters were turned away due to the paper shortages and did not go to a second location to vote. It accuses Tatum and the county of violating the Texas Election Code numerous times. Ogg, who is a Democrat, faced criticism from her party after the investigation became public Wednesday. "With DA Ogg following in the footsteps of Gov. Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and the (Harris County Republican Party), she is enabling election deniers and QAnon conspiracy theorists," Harris County Democratic Party Chair Odus Evbagharu said. "We cannot be helping amplify false rhetoric in the battle to preserve our democracy, freedom, and rights." At Harris County Commissioners Court's meeting Tuesday, more than two dozen members of the public spoke about their concerns, including some who claimed there was an "election steal" and county officials "have been caught."