Six people including a county judge have been indicted by a Texas grand jury on allegations of ballot harvesting.
All those involved were linked to Democratic campaigns, according to The New York Times.
The investigation began with a request from Audrey Gossett Louis, a Republican district attorney from the 81st Judicial District, which covers Atascosa and Frio counties.
Attorney General Ken Paxton Announces Six Indictments and Arrests in Frio County for Illegal Vote Harvesting Scheme: https://t.co/gF6wAzmLlT
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) May 7, 2025
“Ballot harvesting” is the name given to a practice in which a third party secures absentee ballots. Texas law limits this practice and bans ballot harvesting using paid third parties to round up ballots, according to The Washington Post.
“The people of Texas deserve fair and honest elections, not backroom deals and political insiders rigging the system. Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a news release on his website.
“My office will continue to work with Frio County District Attorney Audrey Louis to protect the integrity of our elections,” he said.
The release listed those charged and the charges they face.
Will more be arrested over this alleged scheme?
The individuals indicted are: “Frio County Judge, Rochelle Camacho: 3 counts of Vote Harvesting; Former Frio County Elections Administrator, Carlos Segura: 1 count of Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence; Pearsall City Council, Ramiro Trevino: 1 count of Vote Harvesting; Pearsall City Council, Racheal Garza: 1 count of Vote Harvesting; Pearsall ISD Trustee, Adriann Ramirez: 3 counts of Vote Harvesting; Alleged Frio County Vote Harvester, Rosa Rodriguez: 2 counts of Vote Harvesting.”
Mary Moore, who lost to Camacho in a March 2022 Democratic primary, had alleged Camacho used the services of a ballot harvester who had been doing the work for almost 30 years and was hired by candidates, according to Newsweek.
Court documents claim Camacho and Ramirez targeted elderly voters in October 2022.
Trevino is accused of working for Camacho “in exchange for money, gas, lunches and/or employment with Frio County,” the indictment said, according to KSAT-TV.
Garza is accused of using an app to pay for vote-harvesting services, court documents claimed.
Rodriguez allegedly paid for vote harvesting services in May 2022 and May 2023, reportedly paying Camacho and Ramirez.
Segura is accused of concealing 2023 ballot applications “with the intent to impair the availability of the documents and records as evidence in any subsequent investigation related to the offense,” court documents said.
Ramirez is accused of making three payments to a woman in April 2023 to pay for vote harvesting, per court documents.
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