Tarrant County elections administrator resigns, citing dispute with Judge Tim O'Hare
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tarrant County elections administrator announced he’s stepping down, saying his office has been politicized by the new county judge.
There’s reportedly been tension for months between County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia and County Judge Tim O’Hare, who was elected last year.
That’s now resulted in Garcia’s departure effective June 23.
Tarrant County Elections Administrator Heider Garcia
Garcia has been the county’s elections director since 2018. And during that time, he’s won praise from state officials for his work overseeing the voting process.
The recently departed Texas Secretary of State John Scott told the Texas Tribune last November, "If you were building a prototype for an election administrator, you would just copy Heider Garcia."
But in February of this year, Judge O’Hare joined the county district attorney and sheriff to announce the formation of an election integrity task force.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare
O’Hare said the goal was to "ensure fair, secure and honest elections," despite a lack of evidence that election fraud was a problem in Tarrant County.
Garcia’s office was not to be represented on the task force.
"Judge O’Hare, my formula to administer a ‘quality transparent election’ stands on respect and zero politics; compromising on these values is not an option for me. You made it clear that your formula is different. Thus, my decision is to leave," Garcia said in part in his resignation letter.
Tarrant Co. Republican leaders defend Elections Integrity Unit despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud
A state commissioned audit of the 2020 election found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Tarrant County and praised it as a quality, transparent election.
In his own statement, O’Hare said the election task force was all about ensuring the integrity of the county’s elections.
He added that he wishes Garcia well in his future endeavors.
The head of the Tarrant County Democratic Party told the Texas Tribune it was "alarmed" by Garcia’s departure and said the county has demonstrated fairness and accuracy in its elections under his leadership.
The party condemned the "extremist Republican Party."