A Dallas County justice of the peace claims that mail-in ballot fraud cost him his re-election bid.

Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Luis Sepulveda, whose precinct takes in the largely Latino Oak Cliff neighborhood in South Dallas, has complained to the Secretary of State’s office that questionable mail-in ballots robbed him of the election.

Hardly a new claim, an allegation of mail-in ballot fraud is one that losing candidates often fall back on in a close election.

But Dallas County’s election leader says mail-in ballots are often suspect.

Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said if irregularities have occurred then the mail-in ballots are likely culprit.

"We don't have ways to really be there to make sure everything is happening the way it should be happening and that's why complaints are so important for us to receive from voters when they have these situations," he said.

Sepulveda appeared to be prepared for this fuss, stating back in January that he was on the lookout for voter fraud.

For more on voter issues, check out the story coming soon by Texas Watchdog, which will examine voting irregularities in South Texas and how that region is dealing with the decades-old complaint of mail-in ballot fraud. It's the first in an occasional series on issues surrounding voter fraud in Texas.