A Texas mayoral candidate with more than 100 felony voter‑fraud convictions is back on the ballot, and his case shows how fragile honest elections can be when bad actors game the system.[2][3]
Story Snapshot
- A Carrollton, Texas mayoral candidate, Zul Mirza Mohamed, was charged with over 100 felony counts tied to a mail‑ballot scheme.[1][2]
- He later pleaded guilty to more than 100 felony election‑fraud charges and received a mix of prison time and long probation.[2][3][4]
- Investigators say he forged ballot‑by‑mail applications, used fake IDs, and routed ballots to a virtual mailbox instead of real voters.[2][4]
- The exact count total (106 vs. 109) changed as some charges were dropped, but the scale of the fraud remains massive.[1][2][3][4]
How a Texas Mayoral Candidate Ended Up With 100+ Election‑Fraud Felonies
Denton County officials say the story started in 2020, when staff in the county elections office spotted a troubling pattern in mail‑ballot applications.[1] According to the county’s official news release, investigators later arrested Carrollton mayoral candidate Zul Mirza Mohamed and charged him with 109 felonies related to voter fraud in his local race.[1] That release lists 25 counts of unlawful possession of a ballot or ballot envelope without the voter’s request and 84 counts of fraudulent use of a mail ballot application.[1]
The Heritage Foundation’s election‑fraud database, which tracks proven cases, describes the same Denton County case but notes a slightly different number: 106 felony charges.[2] Heritage reports that Mohamed was charged for a scheme in which he forged absentee ballot request applications for registered voters.[2] The entry states that he had those ballots sent not to nursing homes or real residences, but to a mail store where he had leased a virtual mailbox using a fake Texas driver’s license and a fake University of North Texas student identification card.[2]
Inside the Ballot‑by‑Mail Scheme and the Guilty Plea
An archived statement from the Denton County judge gives more detail on how the scheme worked and what the jury eventually did.[4] That statement explains that Mohamed forged ballot‑by‑mail applications under Carrollton residents’ names and had them sent to the mail store address he controlled, instead of to the real voters.[4] It says law enforcement obtained a search warrant and found a box of ballot materials and fake identification documents that backed up the election‑office suspicions.[2][4]
According to both the county judge’s statement and the Heritage database, Mohamed later pleaded guilty to a large set of felony counts tied to that conduct.[2][4] Heritage reports that he admitted to 25 counts of “Method of Returning Ballot” and 81 counts of “Fraudulent Use of an Application for Ballot by Mail”, a total of 106.[2] The judge’s statement matches those plea numbers and notes that three counts originally filed were later dropped, which helps explain the change from the early 109‑count arrest total.[4]
What Sentence He Received — And Why the Count Dispute Matters
After Mohamed’s guilty plea, a Denton County jury held a three‑day sentencing hearing to decide his punishment.[2][4] The county judge’s statement says jurors sentenced him to four years in state prison and 10 years of probation, combining incarceration with long‑term supervision.[4] Heritage’s entry lines up, stating that after the three‑day sentencing trial, he received four years in prison and 10 years of probation for the election‑fraud counts tied to the mail‑ballot applications and returned ballots.[2]
Local reporting by Texas Scorecard adds more context about how the counts broke down and how the court handled them.[3] That outlet reports that, after several years of legal back‑and‑forth, Mohamed pleaded guilty in 2024 to 84 counts of fraudulent use of an application for ballot by mail, with three of those counts later dismissed, plus 25 violations of method of returning a marked ballot.[3] Texas Scorecard says a jury then sentenced him to four years in state prison for the ballot‑possession charges and 10 years of probation along with 180 hours of community service for the application offenses.[3]
Why This Case Alarms Election‑Integrity Advocates
All of the available records show the same bottom line: a local candidate for mayor ran a large‑scale mail‑ballot scheme and ended up with more than 100 felony convictions tied to voter fraud.[1][2][3][4] Denton County officials publicly praised their elections staff for catching the attempt, and the county judge’s statement highlights how careful review of ballot‑by‑mail applications stopped the fraud before those improper ballots were counted.[1][4] For many conservatives, this confirms that strong checks on mail voting are not optional but essential.
The case also shows how the public debate can blur important details when politics gets involved. Some sources stress the original 109 felony charges, while others focus on the 106 counts tied to the guilty plea.[1][2][3][4] That difference does not erase the crime, but it does let critics argue about numbers instead of about the core facts. For voters who care about election integrity, the record here is clear: without careful local oversight, this fraud could have quietly changed real ballots in a real Texas election.
Sources:
[1] Web – Texas Mayoral Candidate Has 100+ Felony Election Fraud Convictions
[2] Web – Zul Mirza Mohamed – Election Fraud Map – The Heritage Foundation
[3] Web – News Flash • Denton County, TX • CivicEngage
[4] Web – Admitted Mail Ballot Fraudster Charged in Jury Summons Scam
