Texas Voter Fraud Bust Shows How Elections Get Stolen

An illegal vote-harvesting scandal near San Antonio, Texas shows one of the ways in which corrupt political machines operate. Although the example here affects only one county, scaling its model statewide or nationwide would not present too difficult a challenge for motivated politicians in states without strict accountability. This case shows why states must remain vigilant against electoral cheating and ignore the Left's objections to laws that prevent voter fraud and make it more difficult to turn out low-information voters who have no business near a voting booth.

(READ MORE: Maine's Left-Wing Secretary of State Deceptively Words Voter ID Amendment)

The Frio County Vote-Harvesting Scandal

A recent voter fraud investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Election Integrity Unit (EIU) led to the indictment and arrest of six individuals in Frio County, including prominent elected officials.

Paxton created the EIU in October 2021, a month after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed SB 1 into law over Democrats' claims it would disenfranchise "marginalized voters." But by criminalizing paid ballot collection and limiting voter assistance, the law protects marginalized voters—like the elderly—in Frio County from exploitation by unscrupulous politicians and their hired guns.

In early May, the Frio County Sheriff's Department arrested five individuals for vote harvesting and one for evidence tampering. Those arrested for vote harvesting included Pearsall City Council member Ramiro Trevino, Pearsall Independent School District Board Member Adriann Ramirez, Pearsall City Council member Racheal Garza, Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho, and former campaign worker Rosa Rodriguez. Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura was arrested for evidence tampering.

In addition to those indicted, county commissioners, school board members, and election administrators remain under investigation after the EIU seized cell phones from sitting commissioners, a sitting school board member, and a former Pearsall mayor.

The case centered on two women, Maria del Carmen Vela and the late Cheryl Denise Castillo, who allegedly ran vote harvesting schemes for payment in sodas, cigarettes, gas, and cash. The women apparently registered voters for mail-in ballots and went back to collect them—but only returned ballots cast for their clients.

One of Vela's clients included her brother, Frio County Commissioner Joe Vela.

The investigation discovered vote harvesting is so common in Frio County, the women often worked against each other for competing candidates in city, county, and school board elections.

While speaking with investigators, then-Frio County Sheriff candidate Peter Salinas called Castillo, who immediately offered her services, stating "that she will not take a voter’s mail-in ballot if they want to vote for the candidate who she is not working for.” Investigators also recorded her offering her services to a Texas House candidate for the 2024 election.

Frio County Commissioner Raul Carrizales's campaign paid Castillo $3,000 to keep her from working for his opponents—even though he knew she was being investigated.

Considering how widely accepted illegal vote harvesting appears in Frio County, it may be running EIU-monitored special elections for years.

National Implications

How many years have Frio County politicians paid workers to register voters and return their ballots only if they voted the right way? How many millions of exploited elderly votes get cast like this in states without good election integrity laws? These remain important questions when considering the implications of statewide and national elections in swing states.

Critics of election integrity laws argue that cases of voter fraud are rare, citing the low number of convictions. But well-oiled political machines and unscrupulous politicians can use small-scale fraud to dominate local politics where elections are often decided by dozens of votes. This results in a lack of accountability to the community and could launch political operatives onto the national stage without their having fairly earned their spot at the podium.

If individuals are willing to become illegal work horses for a few thousand dollars and several packs of cigarettes, it would not take much to scale this model enough to flip the Senate or swing a presidential election.

The fact that such a coordinated effort occurred and was so widely accepted shows the necessity of these laws and their enforcement. Leftist groups like the ACLU criticized Paxton's 2024 raids on campaign workers’ homes; yet the Frio County case underscores how important SB 1 and the EIU were to protecting the democracy the Left so devoutly venerates.

For years, ballot harvesting from concentrated, low-information populations like the elderly and poor served as a hallmark of Democrats' electoral success. The Frio County illegal ballot harvesting case serves as a stark reminder that voter fraud is not a myth but a tangible danger that demands vigilance to protect the democratic process against unfair and illegal get-out-the-vote tactics.

(READ MORE: America’s Worst Voting Irregularities Started With Oregon’s All-Mail Elections)