Texas vote harvesting scheme?
A Democratic judge has been arrested for participating in a “vote harvesting scheme” in connection with five other individuals, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.
Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho, an elected judge serving Frio County, was charged with three counts of illegal ballot harvesting during her 2022 primary campaign when she waged a bitter battle for her party’s nomination. Charged alongside Camacho was her sister — the county’s election administrator — as well as two Pearsall, Texas, city council members and an additional woman.
A multi-year investigation into the 2022 election revealed that, during the 2022 primary, Camacho defeated her Democratic opponent, Mary Moore, by allegedly hiring a longtime party operative to gather mail-in ballots, complete applications, and drive voters to the polls. For their work, the individual was paid between $1,500 and $2,000, according to San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT.
The effort homed in on elderly voters centered in a Pearsall subdivision. One of Camacho’s accusers said her aide hid ballots under her shirt to deceive investigators while she stopped by seniors’ homes to pick up their ballots.
During her campaign, Camacho’s slogan was “UNITY, MOVEMENT and PROGRESSION FOR FRIO COUNTY.” She alerted voters to the start of “mail outs,” according to social media posts reviewed by the Daily Caller.
On election night, she beat Moore by 157 votes, advancing to a runoff where she won by an even slimmer margin — 72 votes out of 322 cast.
Ballot harvesting is a controversial technique that exists in a gray area of American politics. States such as Texas expressly forbid the practice, while other states allow voters to seek the help of trusted individuals to complete and return ballots for them.
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In addition to Camacho’s indictment, Paxton has secured convictions against four other individuals stemming from ballot harvesting in the 2020 election, including an elected county commissioner.
All of the individuals in the latest case were arrested on May 2, except for Camacho, who will be processed at a later date, Paxton’s office added.
A guilty verdict of ballot harvesting can carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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Texas should probably increase the fine for this conduct. Someone might think it is worth $10,000 to cheat and win an election. I would put the fine at closer to $100,000.
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