TEXAS CITY — The effort to recall Mayor Johnson has failed after falling short of the required number of validated signatures, the city announced Tuesday.

A joint review by the Galveston County Elections Division and the City of Texas City said they confirmed 989 valid signatures — not enough to advance the recall to the next stage. Officials cited unregistered voters, missing required information, and, in some cases, forged signatures or names of deceased individuals. Those alleged improprieties have been referred to the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office for investigation.

Wayne Dolcefino, the investigative journalist assisting recall organizers, questioned the city’s rejection of nearly 300 signatures.

“I can’t know until I look at the document why 300 signatures were disqualified,” Dolcefino told KGTX 7. “It would be a crying shame, however, for people to be disqualified over their addresses, especially if they still reside in Texas City. We will be comparing our petitions and the city’s copies to determine why 300 were disqualified. The county is wrong if they disqualified someone over not updating their address, per SB 3107. If there is actual fraud, then fine, investigate it.”

“Given the seriousness of these allegations, we are committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation to ensure the integrity of the electoral process and uphold all applicable laws,” the department stated.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Sergeant Jeff Winstead or Sergeant Jimmie Reynolds at the Texas City Police Department Criminal Investigations Division by calling (409) 643-5838. Residents who believe they may have been victims of fraud during the petition process can verify their information at https://texascitytx.gov/176/Election-Information.

City officials said no further action will be taken on the recall petition. The mayor’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment

Photo credit: City of Texas City Facebook

Editor’s Note: Texas City released an additional statement, addressing the allegations of fraud. This article has been updated to reflect that statement.