OFFICE OF THE CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY

TOM B. WATSON
GREGG COUNTY, TEXAS
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September 25, 2020

MEDIA RELEASE
Grand Jury Indicts Gregg County Commissioner and Others for
Engaging in Organized Election Fraud
On Wednesday, September 23, 2020, the Gregg County Grand Jury handed down indictments for
Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, Marlena Jackson, Charlie Burns, and DeWayne Ward,
charging them with multiple counts of Engaging in Organized Election Fraud, Fraudulent Use of Mail
Ballot Application, Unlawful Possession of Ballot/Ballot Envelope, Election Fraud, and Tampering
With a Governmental Record. These indictments were the culmination of a joint investigation by the
Texas Attorney General’s Office, Gregg County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gregg County District
Attorney’s Office.

The investigation began after the 2018 Democratic primary election when a concerned citizen filed
a complaint alleging fraudulent voting practices occurring within Gregg County’s Precinct 4.
During the 2018 race for the Precinct 4 Commissioner seat between Kasha Williams and Shannon
Brown, a large number of mail-in voter ballots showed glaring irregularities due to the number of
voter ballots requested based on voter disability. Over 360 mail-in voter ballots were requested in
Precinct 4 claiming voter disability. In comparison, Precincts 1, 2, and 3, combined, had less than
15 requests for mail-in ballots due to voter disability. While Kasha Williams led Shannon Brown
by more than 20 percentage points during in-person voting, seventy-three percent of the mail-in
ballots were cast in favor of Shannon Brown, ultimately leading to his victory.

As a result of these irregularities and the citizen’s complaint, State Senator Bryan Hughes and State
Representative Jay Dean requested a joint investigation with the Attorney General’s Office, Gregg
County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gregg County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement
officials spent hundreds of hours conducting numerous interviews with voters who cast their ballots
by mail. Additionally, the Attorney General’s Office and its analysts reviewed and deciphered
voluminous amounts of documents to determine which ballots were requested and cast fraudulently.

Gregg County District Attorney Tom Watson commented, “Voting is one of our most precious rights
as Americans. We get to choose who we want to represent our interests, locally, statewide, and
nationally. Unfortunately, there are individuals out there who would jeopardize the integrity of our
elections for personal gain. My office stands strong with the Attorney General’s Office to ensure that
the integrity of our electoral system is protected.”

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