Senator Huges: ‘foolish to expand mail-in ballots’

LONGVIEW — A Gregg County Grand Jury indicted four defendants on election offenses earlier this week. Friday evening, State Senator Bryan Hughes told KTBB, “Mail-in ballots are prone to cheating, they are more prone to fraud than any other method of voting.” Gregg County Precinct 4 Commissioner Shannon Brown had 23 felony counts brought against him from the 2018 Democratic Primary, in all the 4 arrested in the alleged voter fraud scheme, had 134 felony counts against four defendants.

The indictments cover a range of offenses including engaging in organized election fraud and fraudulent use of a mail ballot application. Senator Hughes went on to say, “Obviously folks over 65 and disabled folks need to have access to those [mail-in] ballots, but we also have to make sure they are secure. This makes us realize how foolish this move is to expand mail-in ballots further.” In all other Gregg County precincts during the 2018 election, there was a total of 12 mail ballot applications requested based on a voter’s disability. In that same election cycle in Precinct 4, voters requested 366 ballots based on the voters’ disabilities. Brown’s opponent beat him by more than 20 points in in-person early voting and election day ballots. The investigation showed 73% of these 366 mail ballot votes were cast for Brown, who ultimately won the election by five votes. According to county elections data, 69% percent of mail ballot applications for Brown’s race were marked as being assisted by a third-party.