Tarrant County mail-in ballot count faces legal challenge over party imbalance

Libertarian members of the Tarrant County ballot board are preparing to file a writ of mandamus to compel the Republican-controlled election board to act lawfully. Party chair Sean Sparkman announced the legal strategy on Oct. 30, five days before Election Day. The lawsuit seeks a court order to correct an alleged abuse of discretion in how mail-in ballots are being processed.

State election code requires that each political party with candidates on the ballot have the same number of members appointed to the county’s early voting ballot board. The board is responsible for verifying mail-in ballots and determining the validity of provisional ballots. In July, the election board appointed 27 members to the board for the November election, selecting nine individuals from each of the Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican parties.

Libertarians claim the party is not equally represented in the actual counting room during the two-week early voting period. Four Libertarians and two Democrats, including the Democratic Party chair, stated that Republican board chair Amie Super scheduled nine Republicans, seven Democrats, and only two Libertarians to process ballots. Sparkman said the party will take the matter to court to resolve the dispute.

The election board held a special meeting on Oct. 29 to add 20 new members to the board due to concerns about the volume of mail-in ballots. The new appointments include three Libertarians, three Democrats, and 14 Republicans. As of Oct. 30, the county elections office had received 20,482 mail-in ballots. That figure is approximately 17 percent higher than the 22,597 mail-in ballots reported by that point in the 2022 midterm election.

County elections administrator Clint Ludwig stated that the board was legally permitted to appoint additional members and schedule them on an as-needed basis. He noted that the numbers in the ballot board room do not have to be equal, though he did not cite a specific statute. Ludwig confirmed with the Texas Secretary of State’s office that the new appointments were permissible. A staff attorney advised the board that unequal numbers from each party are allowed if needed, citing a statute governing poll workers.

Nina Oishi, staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, disputed that interpretation. She stated that the election code expects fair apportionment from all parties to be involved in the actual operations of the ballot board. Oishi said that excluding members from meetings based on party raises serious questions about legal violations. She noted that the statute cited by the county attorney does not specifically govern the ballot board.

During the Oct. 29 meeting, Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare and GOP chair Tim Davis said the board could not discuss the scheduling issue because it was not on the posted agenda. O’Hare told Democratic chair Allison Campolo that topics not on the agenda cannot be voted on. Davis responded to questions about Libertarian exclusion by asking if the party had not noticed the board appointed all of their recommended members the previous day.

Libertarians allege the scheduling reflects political bias against members involved in litigation against the county. Jocelyn Pantke, the party’s elections coordinator, said the board brought politics into a room that had previously been nonpartisan. Pantke has served on the ballot board for 36 elections since 2020 and is not scheduled to work this November. Elizabeth Miller, another appointed member, said she has been available for weeks but has not been scheduled, citing a dispute over her role in a separate lawsuit against O’Hare.

The additional board members are expected to handle the current volume of mail-in ballots. Libertarians expressed concern that the board may need to work around the clock to finish processing. The county reported that the five board members unanimously approved the new appointees during the special meeting. The writ of mandamus is expected to be filed in the coming days to ensure the ballots are counted in accordance with state law.