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The Texas Attorney General's Office this week announced the indictment of a Frio County judge and five other individuals in connection with an alleged "vote harvesting" scheme.
State law makes it a third-degree felony for a person to "harvest" votes. That's the collection of ballots in return for compensation.
A Frio County grand jury returned the indictments of all six in the county, which is southwest of San Antonio.
The indictments of County Judge Rochelle Camacho, County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura, Pearsall City Councilmembers Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Garza, Pearsall ISD Trustee Adriann Ramirez, and alleged vote harvester Rosa Rodriguez followed a multi-year investigation by the state and Frio County District Attorney Audrey Louis.
"The people of Texas deserve fair and honest elections, not backroom deals and political insiders rigging the system," said Attorney General Ken Paxton. "Elected officials who think they can cheat and stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law."
All the suspects were arrested last week, except for the county Judge, who the attorney general said will be processed at a later date.
If convicted, they could face sentences up to 10 years and fines up to $10,000.
The indictment came months after a legal fight over Texas' voter security law SB1 and a September 2024 ruling from U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez.
He found that a key part of the Texas 2021 omnibus voter legislation is confusing, vague, overly broad, violates freedom of speech along with the 14th Amendment and there is no actual problem of illegal "vote harvesting."
Republican lawmakers have argued the provision is meant to prevent voter fraud. Under the ruling, the Texas Attorney General’s office could not conduct investigations based on the provision.
Paxton appealed the ruling, which allowed him to continue the Frio County case.
The AG’s office cited it when it conducted a series of raids on the homes of Latino voting rights activists and a Democratic candidate for the Texas House.
The lawsuit brought by multiple Texas voting rights organizations asked for relief from several parts of SB1. But the judge’s ruling only concerned the state’s attempt to block assistance with absentee ballots.
In a statement, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) praised the ruling — saying the state trying to intimidate Latino organizers and voters.
Dan Katz contributed to this report.
