Election Fraud Cases

Francisco "Frankie" Garcia, Rebecca Gonzalez, Diana Balderas Castaneda, and Guadalupe Escamilla

In the Donna School Board race, four campaign workers participated in a scheme that involved buying votes with cocaine, cash, beer, and cigarettes. All four pleaded guilty; Garcia received an 18-month sentence, and Castaneda received an eight-month sentence with credit for cooperating against her co-defendants.

Source: bit.ly/2e8xPPu, bit.ly/2uesT2u

Tomasa Ramirez Chavez

Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office, Tomasa Ramirez Chavez was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. She pleaded guilty to illegal "assistance" at the polls and was sentenced to a suspended sentence of six months' jail time and required to complete one year community supervision and to pay a $250 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l01onx

Rafael Angel Elizondo

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

Hazel Brionne Woodard

Hazel Woodard, a Democratic Precinct Chairwoman candidate in Fort Worth, was concerned that her husband would not make it to the polls to vote, so she had her teenage son vote for him. The impersonation went undetected until the husband went to the polls later that day and tried to cast a second ballot in his name. Hazel was indicted for impersonation fraud at the polls, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i4LiXS

Vicenta Guajardo Verino

Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office, Vicenta Guajardo Verino was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. After admitting that he provided illegal 'assistance' at the polls, Verino entered into a deferred adjudication agreement. She was required to complete 12 months' supervised probation and ordered to pay a fine of $250.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rK1ild

Jose Angel Garcia

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

Margarita Rangel Ozuna

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

Bernice Garcia

Bernice Garcia, of Cameron County, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary run-off election. Garcia faced three misdemeanor charges for unlawful voter assistance, unlawful method of returning a marked ballot, and unlawful possession of another's ballot. Garcia entered a conditional plea and was given a one year Deferred Prosecution Contract for the offense of unlawfully assisting a voter. 

Source: https://herit.ag/2Vdv5qr

Belinda Solis and Veronica Saldivar

Two campaign workers pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas for paying voters to vote in two 2012 elections in Hidalgo County, Texas. In an elaborate vote-buying scheme, Belina Solis and Veronica Saldivar offered "baggies" of cocaine and money in exchange for votes for local and county candidates. After an extensive FBI investigation, they both pleaded guilty to one count of vote-buying.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f2jVMh

Adrian Heath, Sybil Doyle, and Roberta Cook

Adrian Heath, Sybil Doyle, and Roberta Cook were convicted of voting on a referendum about whether the Woodlands Road Utility District could raise taxes to cover municipal debt, even though none of them were residents in the district. The election results were subsequently overturned. Heath was sentenced to a three-year prison sentence and a fine of $10,000; Cook and Doyle each received three-year prison sentences, five years' probation, and fines of $5,000.

Source: https://herit.ag/3Akxu3e, https://herit.ag/3x92Tlu

Richard Alan Collier

Richard Alan Collier pleaded guilty to attempting to vote twice in the November 2012 general election, in both Minnesota and Texas. He requested and submitted absentee ballots in both states. Galveston County officials were alerted to Collier's illegal behavior when they were tipped off about a Facebook post in which Collier admitted to double voting. Collier 's misdemeanor conviction earned him a $4,000 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iTTAkv

Carlos Medrano

Former Dallas County Justice of the Peace, Carlos Medrano, was convicted on one count of illegal voting. A grand jury had indicted him for two counts of soliciting votes of non-resident family members in his election for justice of the peace. He was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail, five years on probation, and fined $2,500.

Source: bit.ly/2tvFDz8, bit.ly/2tWBs2i, bit.ly/2sRNq8g

James Alan Jenkins

James Alan Jenkins was convicted of illegal voting after he made a false statement on a voter registration application. Specifically, Jenkins designated a Residence Inn as his address so that he, and a group of other individuals, could vote in an election in a district in which he did not live to try to take control of a local utility board. While the trial court initially sentenced Jenkins to 3 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, the Court of Appeals overturned that conviction and remanded the case for retrial. At the retrial, Jenkins pleaded no contest to falsifying data on a registration application and was sentence to 12 months' probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/2UTvuym, https://herit.ag/370atVc, https://herit.ag/3BEYvhI, Case no. 12-03-015479-CR

Israel Garza

Israel Garza, who, as a felon, was ineligible to vote in a 2010 Texas municipal election, nonetheless attempted to do so, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He pled guilty to attempted illegal voting and was sentenced to 12 months in prison, 2 years of probation, and a fine of $2,500.

Source: bit.ly/2ITls9V, Case no. 2013-DCR-00957

Lorenzo Antonio Almanza, Jr.

Lorenzo Antonio Almanza, of Progreso, was convicted of voting twice in Progreso's 2009 school board election, once in his own name and once using his incarcerated brother's name. Almanza was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and five years of probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x92Upy, https://herit.ag/3yl7X7K