Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued indictments for six individuals allegedly involved in election crimes related to vote harvesting.
The majority of those arrested were charged with vote harvesting, a third-degree felony offense that involves a monetary exchange for collecting and submitting others’ absentee ballots.
“The people of Texas deserve fair and honest elections, not backroom deals and political insiders rigging the system. Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Paxton said.
“My office will continue to work with Frio County District Attorney Audrey Louis to protect the integrity of our elections.”
At the time the warrants were served, one of the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organizations, the League of United Latin American Citizens, called the attorney general’s actions an effort in voter suppression.
“This is voter suppression 101,” he said. “There’s no vote harvesting going on. There’s nobody creating these ballots. That’s a lie.”
Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho was indicted on three counts of vote harvesting, and former Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura faces one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Pearsall City Council members Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Garza were each indicted on one count of vote harvesting.
Pearsall ISD Trustee Adriann Ramirez was indicted on three counts of vote harvesting, and Rosa Rodriguez, an alleged vote harvester in Frio County, was indicted on two counts of vote harvesting.
The recent arrests are part of a multi-year effort by Paxton to address voter fraud following the 2020 election.
“We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes.”