Zul Mohamed, who’s running for mayor in Carrollton, Texas, was arrested Wednesday night and is now facing felony voter fraud charges after he allegedly sent 84 mail-in ballot applications.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his Election Fraud Unit assisted the Denton County Sheriff’s Office in arresting Mohamed on 84 counts of mail-in ballot application fraud and 25 counts of unlawful possession of an official mail-in ballot. Mohamed faces up to 20 years for the charges, according to an official statement released by Paxton.
“Mail ballots are inherently insecure and vulnerable to fraud, and I am committed to safeguarding the integrity of our elections,” Paxton said. “My office is prepared to assist any Texas county in combating this form of fraud.”
The investigation began Sept. 23 when the Denton County Elections Office notified the sheriff’s office that absentee ballots had been requested to be sent to a PO Box that belonged to a nursing home facility, according to CBS DFW.
Officials asked the residents whose ballots had been requested if they actually made the request and learned they did not, per the same report. (RELATED: Texas Supreme Court Rules Houston Can’t Send Out Mail-In Ballots To Voters That Didn’t Request Them)
Investigators found the PO Box was obtained using a fake Texas driver’s license and fake University of North Texas student identification.
A box of ballots was picked up Oct. 7 by a person who police later identified as Mohamed. Police followed him back home and executed a search warrant, finding the box of requested ballots.
The DCSO, along with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Lewisville PD has been investigating this criminal activity and arrested Carrollton Mayoral candidate Zul Mirza Mohamed with 109 felonies related to voter fraud. pic.twitter.com/7PRcWkCCEI
— Denton Co Sheriff (@DentonCoSheriff) October 8, 2020
“Voter fraud is a serious and widespread issue and cannot be tolerated,” Denton County Sheriff Tracey Murphree said in a statement, according to Fox News. “The fact an actual candidate for public office would engage in these activities is appalling. We will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of voter fraud.”