Clint Ludwig was selected on Friday as the new Elections Administrator for Tarrant County.
The Tarrant County Elections Commission voted 5-0 to appoint Ludwig, who has spent the last six years working as chief deputy in the Tarrant County Clerk’s office, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare announced in a statement.
The Elections Commission is made up of the County Judge, County Clerk, the Tax Assessor-Collector and the chairs of county’s Republican and Democratic parties.
Ludwig will begin his new job on Aug. 1. One of three finalists for the post, Ludwig will replace Heider Garcia who submitted his resignation in a letter sent to O’Hare and Tarrant County Administrator G.K. Maenius in April.
A widely respected elections administrator, Garcia said in the letter that his decision to leave the job was due to a difference in opinion on how elections should be conducted.
Ludwig served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he did counterintelligence work. He is also a certified interrogator, according to the statement from O’Hare.
“It is evident that Clint loves his country, freedom and believes that free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our Constitutional Republic,” O’Hare stated. “While the other finalists all brought their own unique strengths and talents to the table, Tarrant County is fortunate to have Clint at the helm of our elections moving forward.”
The other two finalists were Fred Crosley, the former chief financial officer of Trinity Metro and Karen Wiseman, a prominent Republican donor and activist who was critical of the county’s election security.
“I am extremely honored to have been selected as the Tarrant County Elections Administrator,” Ludwig said. “I will approach this opportunity with great enthusiasm, tenacity and a commitment to excellence. You can trust that I will further Tarrant County’s legacy of conducting free and fair elections that express the will of the people.”
“While I do not have experience directly in elections,” Ludwig said, “I have years as a senior executive in a large organization, a proven track record of exceeding expectations in all that I undertake, and 20 years in the United States Marine Corps where I learned early and often to adapt and overcome. This will be the foundation of our collective success. I want to thank the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and the Tarrant County Election Commission for their confidence in me.”
The selection of Ludwig comes as elected Democratic officials from Tarrant County have asked the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to investigate O’Hare and the county’s Election Integrity Unit.
A letter signed by U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, State Reps. Nicole Coller, Ramon Romero, Chris Turner and Salman Bohjani, as well as Democratic County Commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roy Brooks, expressed alarm over Garcia’s resignation and the potential for intimidation of minority voters in the county.
Former Fort Worth State Rep. Lon Burnam, now a community activist, said he was displeased with the decision to hire Ludwig.
“I am very disturbed about the process and the outcome,” Burnam stated.