Ballot fraud investigation clouds Dallas County runoffs

Voters are deciding several municipal runoff races, but results in Dallas County will be incomplete because of an ongoing voter fraud investigation.

The Dallas County District Attorney's office is sequestering mail-in ballots from Dallas County races to review signatures and verify voter identities. On Twitter, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he would be visiting with the county elections administrator on the issue after the polls close.

The issue dates back several months after a large number of voters, primarily in West Dallas, complained of receiving mail-in ballots they did not request. Many of the submitted ballots for the May 6 election featured one name, "Jose Rodriguez." Investigators suspected the name was fictitious and they were trying to determine who signed the ballots.

Last month, the search for "Jose Rodriguez" led the D.A.'s investigators to issue an arrest warrant for Miguel Hernandez. Investigators said Hernandez was identified by a voter who said he filled out and signed her ballot without consent. Investigators said they expected the number of suspects to grow as the investigation continues.

For the latest report on Dallas County runoff returns, and races in surrounding counties, visit our elections results page.