Election Fraud Cases

Jalynn Stowers

Jalynn Stowers, of Hardin County, pleaded guilty to one count of prohibitions relating to petitions or declarations, an election fraud charge. She was sentenced to two years of community control and ordered to pay a $50 fine, court costs, and attorney's fees.

Source: https://herit.ag/376jADE , (Case #20072005)

Kevin Duffy

Kevin Duffy pleaded guilty to voting early in Ohio, where he was not a resident, in the presidential election. He was sentenced to one year of probation and a $1,000 fine, along with 250 hours of community service.

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

Elva Gutierrez Lazo

Elva Gutierrez Lazo, a former Duval County precinct secretary, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing another's ballot during the 2006 primary election. Lazo and others helped voters to register to receive absentee ballots by falsely claiming they were disabled. She later returned to collect and mail the absentee votes. Lazo received one year of deferred adjudication and one year of community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/2Wi1pc0, https://herit.ag/3ycCLrp

Jose Rene Gomez

Jose Rene Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of illegal voting. Gomez was implicated in a scheme to register phony voters at vacant lots in an effort to receive and submit a large number of mail-in ballots for the 2006 Democratic Primary. Gomez was also charged with voting twice in that election. He was sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication, two years of community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/2Vf1DAa, https://herit.ag/3zMyxr3

Lydia Molina

Lydia Molina, then-Treasurer for Duval County, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing another's ballot during the 2006 primary election. Molina and others helped voters to register to receive absentee ballots by falsely claiming they were disabled. She later returned to collect and mail the absentee votes. Molina received one year of deferred adjudication and one year of community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/370awjQ, https://herit.ag/3rDeQPh

Maria Soriano

Maria Soriano, then-head of the Duval Welfare Department, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing another's ballot during the 2006 primary election. Soriano and others helped voters register to receive absentee ballots by falsely claiming they were disabled. She later returned to collect and mail the absentee votes. Soriano received one year of deferred adjudication and one year of community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/2VdbWVA, https://herit.ag/378DL3K

Mark Littlefield

Mark Littlefield, of Hays County, was charged with one count of illegal possession of a forged instrument stemming from forgery and document tampering conducted during a 2006 special election. He was admitted to a one-year pretrial diversion program, and was ordered to make a $300 donation.

Source: Case No. 89, 298 (Information obtained from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas)

Maria Adelina Trigo

Maria Adelina Trigo, a former Duval County welfare clerk, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing a ballot that was not her own during the 2006 primary election. Trigo and others helped voters to register to receive absentee ballots by falsely claiming they were disabled. Trigo later returned to collect and mail the absentee vote. She received one year of deferred adjudication and one year of community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $300 fine.

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

Jami Parkinson Billings

Jami Parkinson Billings, of Goliad County, illegally revealed the results of a 2008 municipal election before the vote had concluded. Billings pleaded nolo contendere to one count of "unlawfully revealing information before polls close," was sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication, and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and complete two years of community supervision.

Source: Case No. 08-8-8967 CR (Information obtained from the Office of the Attorney General of Texas)

Zachary Millett, Brandon Ellsworth, and Charles Rich

Zachary Millet, Brandon Ellsworth, and Charles Rich pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor attempt to fraudulently register to vote in a 2006 election for sheriff. The small county of Daggett (population 900) saw 28 others placed in a diversionary program for misdemeanor fraud committed in the same election. Each of these three defendants was sentenced to 30 days in jail (suspended) and fined $500 as part of a diversion agreement.

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

Randell Lee Cole

Randell Lee Cole was admitted into the Jefferson County "Friendship" Diversion Program following charges that Cole had illegally voted in the 2008 primary election. Cole, a felon, was ineligible to cast a ballot.

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

Todd Stuart McGuire

Todd Stuart McGuire, of Port Townsend, was ordered to participate in a diversion program that includes five years of supervision. McGuire cast a ballot in his wife's name in a 2007 special election. He agreed to an order that "facts sufficient for a guilty" finding existed in his case. McGuire was barred from voting during the five-year supervision period.

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

James Bryant, Jr.

James Bryant, Jr. admitted to improperly assisting voters in completing their absentee ballots in the 2005 Americus mayoral election. Bryant was a candidate in that election, and on at least six occasions, he helped voters fill out information on their ballot mailers without signing the requisite oath indicating he had provided the assistance. He was ordered by the State Election Board to pay a $600 fine.

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

Jerry Metts

Jerry Metts was investigated for helping illegal aliens cast absentee ballots in Atkinson County during a 2004 county commission election. He was fined $80,000 by the State Election Board.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i5A05t

Charles Powell, Sheila Thomas, Jesse Lewis, Kelvin Ellis, and Yvette Johnson

East Saint Louis City precinct committeemen Charles Powell, Sheila Thomas, Jesse Lewis, and Kelvin Ellis, as well as precinct worker Yvette Johnson, were convicted for conspiracy to commit election fraud after participating in vote-buying activities in the 2004 election, including submitting budgets that would allow city funds to pay voters to vote for Democratic candidates. Powell was sentenced to 21 months in prison; Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison, $400 in fines, and two years' supervised release; Johnson was sentenced to two years' probation with the first five months in monitored home confinement; Lewis was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years' supervised release, and $200 in fines; Ellis was sentenced to a 4.5 year prison sentence for election fraud and assorted criminal offenses, including running a prostitution ring out of city hall and threatening to kill a federal witness.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l9XAjo, https://herit.ag/3i8YTxu