FORT WORTH, Texas _ As record early voting turnout continues, local Latino leaders in the Democratic Party are asking federal officials to investigate complaints that senior citizens in Tarrant County being intimidated by "vigilante-style" tactics, leaving some too afraid to vote either by mail or in person.
The United Hispanic Council has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, saying a Republican-led investigation into potential voter fraud here has "left a trail of confused and upset seniors who are now afraid of voting or participating via the absentee ballot process," according to a UHC news release.
"This is voter suppression," said Sal Espino, a Fort Worth city councilman who is among those concerned about this issue. "When these people go talk to seniors, they are accusing them of doing something wrong, making it seem as though they shouldn't have voted by mail.
"They are making people uncomfortable with exercising their right to vote. Now they don't want to vote. They are scared they are doing something wrong."
This comes as a record number of Texas voters continue flocking to the polls.
In the first four days of early voting, more than 1.7 million Texans in the state's 15 largest counties _ including nearly 200,000 Tarrant County voters _ cast ballots in person or by mail. That's 18.25 percent of the state's registered voters, state election records show.
But the voter suppression allegations follow the news that state officials have been in Tarrant County investigating a Republican complaint about mail-in ballots, potentially looking at concerns about "vote harvesting," in which people fill out and return other people's ballots.
Latino leaders say they are concerned about the effect of the ongoing investigation, led by Republican political consultant Aaron Harris, who has filed complaints with the state citing election concerns in Tarrant County.
"Well it's finally come to this," Harris posted on Facebook after learning about the DOJ complaint. "So I expose the fraud, and those who are stealing the votes and suppressing voters want to sue me. They are going to be very surprised when the facts come out in this one.
"Strap in, this is going to be a fun ride."
Justice Department officials said Friday they have yet to receive the United Hispanic Council complaint that alleges "vigilante-style visits by political activists" to a number of mainly Spanish-speaking senior citizens has led to voter suppression.
"The Justice Department will review the request as soon as we receive it," a DOJ spokesman said.
The United Hispanic Council and local officials plan to elaborate about the local problems during a gathering at noon Saturday on Fort Worth's northside.
Early voting runs through Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.
Harris, who worked with Dallas businessman Monty Bennett to campaign against directors on the Tarrant Regional Water District board, did not return Star-Telegram telephone calls Friday seeking comment.
He has given public speeches talking about how he and his team sifted through thousands of mail-in ballots.
He claims they found cases where voter signatures on envelopes that contain ballots didn't match the signatures on requests for mail-in ballots. He referred to some campaign workers who allegedly removed ballots from voters' mailboxes and filled out the forms themselves.
And he referred to a Jan. 22, 2016, letter posted online in which the Texas Secretary of State's office referred his "allegations of criminal activity in Tarrant County" to the Texas Attorney General's Office.
Among the "potential crimes" the SOS letter said might have been committed locally: failure to comply as a witness, improperly serving as a witness for multiple voters, forgery and tampering with a governmental record, unlawful possession of a carrier envelope and improper assistance, according to the letter.
Harris is promoting an "Election Integrity Tip Hotline" _ 817-893-8502 _ through which he's offering up to a $5,000 reward for any election fraud-related tip that leads to a felony conviction.
People working this type of investigation must walk a fine line, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
"Republicans or other investigators may not have intended to intimidate voters, but making these inquiries has the effect of making vulnerable people feel like they are being watched," he said. "This can unintentionally suppress a voters' willingness to participate. Investigators need to proceed cautiously as to not create any residual civic damage."
Some say the GOP investigation is a political ploy.
"This coincides with (Donald) Trump's fear of election rigging and Republicans are afraid they might lose Texas," said Sergio De Leon, a Tarrant County justice of the peace. "You have people raising all these allegations that aren't true.
"This is a situation where the far right wing conservatives fear the Latino vote," he said. "They know, as the Latino vote grows, it represents a mighty force to be reckoned with."
Democratic State Rep. Ramon Romero is among the local Latino leaders concerned about how the Harris investigation is impacting voters.
"We began getting complaints from seniors," he said. "I literally had a senior tell me, 'I don't need any help any more. I'm scared. Thank you for everything. We love you and don't want anything to happen to you because of what these people are saying.'"
Romero, who began talking to voters about the Harris investigation last weekend, said he's concerned about Texans' private property rights.
"We are going to follow the evidence and what we've already found is disturbing," he said. "(Harris) can claim voter fraud, but one thing you don't have the right to do is walk on people's private property and interrogate them about how and who they voted for and insinuate that they've done something illegal by how they voted.
"We want to get the information out to seniors that they can call the authorities and ask those people to leave their private property. And they need to vote."
Harris said he has been looking into voter concerns, including those expressed by former state Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat, who lost his re-election bid to Romero two years ago by 111 votes.
Burnam filed a lawsuit challenging the results, saying he believed that an "illegal computerized-signature vote-by-mail operation" was run by Romero, who now represents Texas House District 90. Burnam dropped the lawsuit months later after judges refused to require county election officials to release the vote-by-mail applications that were in question.
Romero said he personally has been in contact with the Justice Department.
"The facts are that people have been intimidated with questions about whether they voted by mail," he said. "They've been told what they've been doing is illegal. They've been questioned about how they voted and who they voted for.
"The voter has rights," he said. "If someone is being intimidated, they should run that person off their front porch ... and call and report it."
