Report: 9 Suspects, Including Multiple Democrat Officials, Indicted For Voter Fraud:
These newly charged nine join six charged in early May, creating a group of 15 total suspects. Among them are several Pearsall Council Members, a Frio County judge, and two former local mayors, in addition to the former Democrat House candidate.
Nine suspects, including multiple Democrat officials, were indicted last week on voter fraud charges as part of an ongoing state-led election integrity investigation headed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, KSAT Investigates reported. Seven of the 9 suspects reportedly turned themselves in to the county jail last week.
A judicial district attorney confirmed the indictments, according to KSAT. These newly charged nine join six charged in early May, creating a group of 15 total suspects. Among them are several Pearsall Council Members, a Frio County judge, and two former local mayors, in addition to the former Democrat House candidate.
The suspects each face one or more charges of ballot-harvesting activities inconsistent with Texas law. Texas requires that, excluding rare exceptions, each voter turn in their own ballot. Vote harvesting, often referred to as ballot harvesting, involves a party other than the voter gathering and submitting absentee ballots outside of the legal exceptions, and is considered a third-degree felony.
Frio County initially indicted six suspects in early May, arresting five, according to KSAT News. The New York Times reported all original five as having ties to Democrat candidates. Similar connections can be seen among the nine charged last week, which includes former Democrat House candidate Cecilia Castellano and Juan Manuel Medina. Medina has been accused of vote harvesting on behalf of Castellano, who ran in 2024 for the District 80 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Medina allegedly compensated one Rachel Leal and former Dilley council member Inelda Rodriguez in exchange for “vote-harvesting services,” in February 2024, NewsMax reported. Leal has been charged with one count of vote harvesting, Castellano and Medina with two, and Rodriguez with three counts. --->READ MORE HERE
Former Democratic state House candidate among nine indicted for alleged vote harvesting in South Texas:
The charges are the latest escalation in a probe that resulted in Texas authorities indicting six other Frio County area officials in May.
A South Texas grand jury this week reportedly indicted nine people, including the former chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party and a former Texas House candidate, for alleged vote harvesting in a sprawling investigation led by Attorney General Ken Paxton that has targeted Latino Democrats in the state.
Among the indicted were Manuel Medina, who once led Bexar County Democrats and served as a legislative aide, as well as Cecilia Castellano, who lost a bid last year to represent a district that includes Frio County in the Legislature’s lower chamber, according to KSAT, which first reported the development Wednesday.
The indictments add to six previous ones revealed by Paxton in May and are the latest escalation in a probe that last year resulted in search warrants that led Texas authorities to seize Castellano’s phone and raid Medina’s home.
At the time, Latino leaders in Texas condemned the moves while Democratic state lawmakers asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the state for potential violations of federal law and civil and voting rights amid a flurry of what Republican state leaders described as efforts to secure the state’s elections.
On Thursday, neither Paxton’s office nor 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis returned requests for comment. KSAT attributed the information in its report to Louis.
Castellano turned herself into authorities on Wednesday upon learning of two charges of vote harvesting leveled against her, her lawyer Don Flanary said. He professed his client’s innocence and questioned the government’s allegations in using a charge whose constitutionality is unsettled in courts.
In September, a federal judge ruled that certain prohibitions of voter outreach efforts in the Texas law were unconstitutionally vague and restricted free speech. But the New Orleans 5th Circuit appeals court overturned the decision when Paxton’s office appealed it.
“Cecilia is innocent. She didn’t do anything illegal and I don’t think they are going to be able to prove it,” Flanary said by telephone, dismissing the prosecutions as “plainly” politically motivated. “The problem is it’s very chilling for people.”
He added: “It's highly inappropriate, in my opinion, to be filing these charges now when the 5th Circuit is going to rule about whether the activity is even a crime. … These people aren't charged with voter fraud. These people aren’t charged with the traditional ways that it's illegal to get votes or do voter fraud.” --->READ MORE HERE
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