Election Fraud Cases
Details
Harris County 180th District Court Judicial Election
The result of the 180th district court judicial election was overturned in Harris County, Texas, after a state judge concluded that over 1,400 illegal votes had been counted. The margin of victory was only 449 votes in an election in which over one million votes were cast. However, the judge found clear and convincing evidence that 983 votes were cast by individuals who did not actually reside in Harris County, did not correctly list their residence, or listed non-residential addresses such as post offices as their residence on their voter registration; 40 absentee ballots lacked the required signatures and 8 ballots were not mailed in a timely manner; 445 voters did not provide proper identification or substitute documentation to prove their identity; 5 provisional ballots lacked a signature and one lacked a photo ID or an acceptable substitute. In total, the court ruled that 1,482 illegal votes were cast in the election, far outweighing the 449-vote margin between the two candidates. The court ordered a new election.
Source: herit.ag/3Y4e2VV
Details
Marlena Jackson, wife of Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor election fraud. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Jackson's husband Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from two paid campaign workers and Jackson to increase the ballots in Brown's favor. Jackson working with Brown and his crew, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Marlena was originally charged with close to 100 different felony charges including providing false information on a voting application, election fraud, and tampering with a government record with the intent to defraud or harm. Jackson was sentenced to a year's probation and a $2,445 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/33qzzOJ, https://herit.ag/3oSoH3O , https://herit.ag/3rRxrc7, https://herit.ag/3GVHG3E
Details
Charlie Burns Jr., campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Shannon Brown participated in a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife Marlena Jackson, Burns, and DeWayne Ward, another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote total for Brown. Burns working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, providing incorrect information to voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filing out the ballots and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Burns was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year's probation, and fined $445.
Source: https://herit.ag/3gSxiyS , https://herit.ag/3oSxz9F, https://herit.ag/3rUront, https://herit.ag/3GNZihK
Details
DeWayne Ward, campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme during the 2018 Longview City Council Democratic primary election. During that election, Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife, Marlena Jackson, Ward, and Charlie Burns Jr. another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote tally in Brown's favor. Ward, working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Ward was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year's probation, and fined $445.
Source: https://herit.ag/3HXp7gz, https://herit.ag/3LBeQZV , https://herit.ag/3sMrGf3, https://herit.ag/3uSSbSK
Details
Monica Mendez was charged with 26 felonies after her involvement in an absentee ballot trafficking scheme to alter the results of the May 2018 Bloomington water board election. Mendez served as a volunteer deputy registrar and was responsible for registering new voters in her official role. During this election, 275 people in Bloomington registered to vote all using the same post office box as a mailing address. However, the address was associated with a subsidized housing company who was attempting the sway the outcome of the election. According to the press release by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "Mendez ran a vote-harvesting operation on behalf of a subsidized housing corporation in order to influence the outcome of a utility board election." Mendez Mendez pleaded guilty to 26 felony counts including three counts of illegal voting, eight counts of election fraud, seven counts of unlawful assistance to a voter to submit a ballot by mail, and eight counts of unlawful possession of a mail ballot. She was sentenced to five years of deferred adjudication probation, 80 hours of community service, and fined $1,415.
Source: https://herit.ag/3OMoYQ8 , https://herit.ag/3bxUROc, https://herit.ag/3OHfLsv
Details
Shannon Brown, Commissioner of Gregg County, Texas pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor election fraud and record tampering. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City Council election, Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from two paid campaign workers and his wife to increase the votes in his favor. Brown, along with his crew, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Brown was originally charged with over 20 felony charges related to providing false information on voting applications. As part of his plea deal, Brown was sentenced to one year in jail which was suspended to a year's probation and fined $2,445. Brown was allowed to stay in office.
Source: https://herit.ag/3uVtk0S, https://herit.ag/3JBDN5J, https://herit.ag/3Bo6xf6 , https://herit.ag/3gMJvFv
Details
Charles Nathan Jackson, of Tarrant County, forged the name of a stranger, Mardene Hickerson, on an application for an early voting ballot. Jackson pleaded guilty to providing false information on a voting application, a felony, as part of a plea deal to avoid an enhancement for previous drug and theft offenses. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, and was given credit for time already served.
Source: https://herit.ag/3f1kAxn
Details
Cynthia Gonzalez, of Nueces County, marked and mailed ballots that were not her own in the 2016 Nueces County Democratic Primary. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to three charges of election code violations and was sentenced to serve five days in the San Patricio County Jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rCeZ5C, https://herit.ag/3y4jpVk, https://herit.ag/3zKbEUP
Details
Miguel Hernandez visited an elderly woman shortly before the 2017 Dallas City Council election, collected her blank absentee ballot, filled it out, and forged her signature before mailing it back. Hernandez was the first person arrested as part of a larger voter fraud investigation in the Dallas area, stemming from claims by elderly voters that someone was forging their signatures and the return of nearly 700 mail-in ballots all signed by the same witness using a fake name. Hernandez faced a felony illegal voting charge, but pleaded to a lesser misdemeanor offense of "method of returning marked ballot." He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and given credit for time served.
Source: https://herit.ag/370axUW, https://herit.ag/3f1ZChS
Details
Tyron Davis, a former constable in Ellis County, Texas, was convicted of six counts of voter fraud for assisting nursing home residents with their mail-in ballots and voter registration applications without identifying his assistance on the ballot. He was also convicted of false identification as a peace officer for having pasted an image of his face onto the body of a peace officer for use on a flier advertising his assistance at the nursing home during his campaign, all before he became an officer. Davis resigned his officer's license to avoid jail time.
Source: https://herit.ag/2Wi1iNC, https://herit.ag/3yb4msS
Details
Prosecutors charged Graciela Sanchez with four misdemeanor counts of violating election law in an effort to assist Guadalupe Rivera win re-election to the post of Weslaco city commissioner in 2013. Rivera and Sanchez were found to have illegally "assisted" absentee ballot voters. The results of the election were disputed, and a judge determined that 30 ballots had been illegally cast in an election decided by only 16 votes. Sanchez pleaded guilty and received two years' probation.
Source: bit.ly/2f8AtkT, bit.ly/2f8AtkT
Details
Guadalupe Rivera, a former Weslaco city commissioner, pleaded guilty to one count of providing illegal "assistance" to a voter by filling out an absentee ballot "in a way other than the way the voter directed or without direction from the voter." The fraud took place during Rivera's 2013 re-election bid, which he won by a scant 16 votes. His challenger sued alleging fraud, and a judge determined that 30 ballots had been illegally cast, enough to alter the outcome of the election. A new election was subsequently held, and Rivera lost. Rivera originally faced 16 election-related charges, 15 of which were dropped as part of his plea deal. He was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BNfiPJ
Details
Rafael Angel Elizondo, of Cameron County, along with Jose Garza, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary run-off. Elizondo improperly posessed between 10 and 20 ballots without the consent of the voters. Elizondo faced a third degree felony method of returning marked ballot charge. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to serve three days in county jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/378DMVm, https://herit.ag/3f4FtYr
Details
Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office, Margarita Rangel Ozuna was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. Ozuna pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulent use of absentee ballots and was sentenced to serve 15 days in Cameron County jail and required to pay a $250 fine. This was the second time that Ozuna was convicted of voter fraud. In 2013, she was convicted of felony voter fraud stemming from the 2010 election.
Source: bit.ly/2E3q99l, bit.ly/2pL2B4H
Details
Jose Angel Garcia, of Cameron County, along with Rafael Angel Elizondo, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff. Garza improperly possessed as many as 10 ballots without the consent of the voters. Garza faced five felony counts of method of returning marked ballot. He pleaded guilty to one of those charges and was sentenced to serve two days in county jail.
Source: https://herit.ag/3kX7GUW, https://herit.ag/3x9CsfN
Key & Definitions
Types of Cases
Any case that results in a defendant entering a plea of guilty or no contest, or being found guilty in court of election-related offenses.
A finding by a court of law that fraud occurred in an election, including judicial orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any civil case resulting in fines or other penalties imposed for a violation of election laws.
A finding by a government body that fraud occurred in an election, including orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any criminal case in which a judge directs a defendant into a pre-trial diversion program, or stays or defers adjudication with the understanding that the conviction will be cleared upon completion of the program.
Types of Voter Fraud
Requesting absentee ballots and voting without the knowledge of the actual voter; or obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter who to vote for.
Illegal registration and voting by individuals who are not U.S. citizens, are convicted felons, or are otherwise not eligible to vote.
Voting in the name of other legitimate voters and voters who have died, moved away, or lost their right to vote because they are felons, but remain registered.
Paying voters to cast either an in-person or absentee ballot for a particular candidate.
Forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the official ballot
Registering in multiple locations and voting in the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state.
Voting under fraudulent voter registrations that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live and is not entitled to vote.
Changing the actual vote count either in a precinct or at the central location where votes are counted.
Forcing or intimidating voters—particularly the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom English is a second language—to vote for particular candidates while supposedly providing them with “assistance.”
