According to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, an investigation into the 2022 Harris County general election has found no criminal activity related to the contest. The investigation, launched in response to concerns raised by Governor Greg Abbott, focused on allegations of improprieties during the election, including voter suppression and equipment failures. However, the inquiry concluded that there was no intentional misconduct aimed at suppressing voter turnout.
The only case to emerge from the investigation involves Darryl Blackburn, a former data analyst with the now-defunct Harris County Elections Administration Office. Blackburn, responsible for allocating equipment and supplies, such as paper ballots, to 782 polling locations across Harris County, faces six felony charges. Officials say Blackburn worked a second full-time job at an oil and gas company for about 15 months and that dual employment led to Blackburn’s negligence. Instead of carefully allocating ballot paper, he divided the number of polling locations by the amount of paper he had, resulting in a haphazard and inadequate distribution.
Blackburn is accused of falsifying timesheets, claiming hours for both jobs simultaneously, and earning over $90,000 from the county and more than $250,000 from his second job during the same period. Despite these charges, Ogg emphasized that there was no evidence to suggest Blackburn intended to influence the election’s outcome.
The investigation’s findings come after a tumultuous Election Day in 2022, where Harris County voters faced significant delays due to voting machine malfunctions, ballot paper shortages, and late openings at multiple polling locations. A state judge even extended voting hours to accommodate these issues. Although the Texas Secretary of State’s office released a report highlighting failures in the election process, it found no evidence of voter fraud.
Blackburn is being held on a $65,000 bond. Ogg says no further charges are pending, marking the conclusion of this investigation.