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Abbott touts 50 election fraud convictions; we subtract 29

A sign encourages voting in Austin at an odd time, October 2011 (Source: Austin American-Statesman photo, Jay Janner). A sign encourages voting in Austin at an odd time, October 2011 (Source: Austin American-Statesman photo, Jay Janner).

A sign encourages voting in Austin at an odd time, October 2011 (Source: Austin American-Statesman photo, Jay Janner).

By W. Gardner Selby April 17, 2012

Defending the stalled Texas law requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls, state government’s chief lawyer, Attorney General Greg Abbott, recently said his investigations of election fraud had resulted in 50 convictions since 2002.
   
We attempted a recount after Abbott spokesman Jerry Strickland provided a list of 57 election fraud prosecutions, as well as documents showing how the cases were resolved.

Strickland told us six of the prosecutions ended in dismissal or acquittal, leaving 51 prosecutions that resulted in convictions.

We soon realized the cases had various resolutions, ultimately concluding that 29 of Abbott's proclaimed convictions were actually not convictions.

See more in our Truth-O-Meter article to the right, which includes a link to the breakdown shared by the Attorney General's office.

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Abbott touts 50 election fraud convictions; we subtract 29