Election Fraud Cases

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

Sara Virginia Perales

Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office, Sara Virginia Perales was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. After admitting that she falsified absentee ballots, Perales entered into a deferred adjudication agreement. She was required to complete 12 months' probation and pay a $150 fine, in addition to being barred from engaging in voting activities.

Source: bit.ly/2pRIEbx, bit.ly/2pL2B4H

Tamara Scotch

Tamara Scotch and her husband, Michael, of Edwards County, voted in a district other than the one in which they resided in a 2013 municipal election. The Scotches both falsely listed their residence as being in Rocksprings, and voted there, despite not living in the city. Tamara was charged with two counts of illegal voting and two counts of tampering with a government record. Tamara pleaded no contest to illegal voting in exchange for the state dropping the other charges. She was sentenced to 24 months' deferred adjudication during which she was on community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i4UR9d, https://herit.ag/3j9ZlLd

Benito Aranda Jr.

Benito Aranda Jr., who was ineligible to vote due to a prior felony conviction, voted illegally in a 2012 primary election. Aranda pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, probated to 10 years of community supervision.

Source: https://herit.ag/3yakNFV, Case no. 14-0713-904-CR

Avery Ayers

Avery Ayers, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, forged signatures on a petition for candidacy in the 2014 General Election race in Texas. Ayers pled guilty to one count of third degree felony forgery and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Source: https://herit.ag/3y85HRf, Case no. 1476757

Facunda Garcia

Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General's office, Facunda Garcia was charged along with five others, for illegal assistance at the polls during the 2012 Democratic primary runoff election in Cameron County. She pleaded guilty to filling out the ballot for a female voter without that voter's direction to do so. Garcia was sentenced to three days in jail, but was given credit for time served; court costs and fees were waived.

Source: https://herit.ag/378DIF6

Michael Scotch

Michael Scotch and his wife, Tamara, of Edwards County, voted in a district other than the one in which they resided in a 2013 municipal election. The Scotches both falsely listed their residence as being in Rocksprings, and voted there, despite not living in the city. Michael was charged with two counts of illegal voting and two counts of tampering with a government record. Michael pleaded guilty to illegal voting in exchange for the state dropping the other charges. He was sentenced to 24 months' deferred adjudication during which he was on community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rAO228, https://herit.ag/3ymcwPz

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

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

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

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