In Reality check stories, Star-Telegram journalists dig deeper into questions of facts, consequences and liability. Read more. Story idea? RealityCheck@star-telegram.com.
Massive voter fraud threatens Tarrant County as election officials sent out 7 million mail-in ballots, according to former CBS correspondent Lara Logan, but county officials quickly labeled her claims untrue.
“Texas is in real danger from fraud in this election – Tarrant County is trying to mail out 7 million ballots and there are no signs that enough people are taking this seriously,” Logan said in a post on X Wednesday. “Ken Paxton and his office realize the threat. But too many people are complacent and ignore this.”
She did not cite any sources.
Logan, who has won numerous journalism awards, including Emmys, was a correspondent for the popular CBS News show “60 Minutes” until a 2013 story about the 2012 attack on U.S. diplomatic and intelligence offices in Benghazi, Libya, was discredited after a The source she cited appeared to have given her an inaccurate account. Logan went public with his story despite knowing he had given a different story to federal investigators.
She now hosts a web show called “The Rest of the Story with Lara Logan” and promotes conspiracy theories about voter fraud, COVID-19 vaccines, the January 6 insurrection and other fringe stories.
The Star-Telegram reached out to Logan for comment via the contact form on her website but did not receive a response.
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How many mail-in ballots does Tarrant County send out?
While many responses to Logan’s post came from people who seemed to take it for granted, county officials and prominent Republicans condemned her statement as not factual.
Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said the claim is not true. The county only sends mail-in ballots to eligible voters who request them, and his office has received 22,977 requests so far.
He referred the Star-Telegram to the county’s figures on mail-in ballots, which the county regularly posts on its website. As of Tuesday, his office had mailed out 4,705 ballots and received 81 back.
“We follow the rules for absentee voting by mail as set forth in the Texas Election Code,” Ludwig said in an emailed statement, citing statutes that task a county’s early voting clerk with reviewing applications for mail-in ballots and providing those ballots to eligible voters. .
According to the Texas Secretary of State, eligibility for mail-in ballots is limited to voters who:
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65 years or older;
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sick or disabled;
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leave the county on election day and during the early voting period by personal appearance; or
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expected to give birth within three weeks before or after election day; or
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incarcerated in prison, but otherwise eligible.
Others in Tarrant County politics and government also lent their voices to debunk Logan’s claim.
When someone on
O’Hare’s office did not respond to an email seeking further comment.
Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French initially seemed interested in Logan’s numbers, responding at 9:14 a.m.: “As chairman of Tarrant County, this is news to me.” Maybe we should talk.”
However, two minutes later he replied: “We only have 2.5 million residents and 1.2 million registered voters. 7 million? Come on. This is absurd.”
French provided no further comment when contacted via email.
Logan’s post harks back to a similar post on X from Fox News personality Maria Bartiromo in August. Quoting the unnamed wife of a friend, she wrote that a “huge line of immigrants” had been seen registering to vote at a driver’s license office in Weatherford.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which runs the office, told the Star-Telegram that Bartiromo’s statement was “just false” and “a little bit racist.”
