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.
Paxton’s office released a statement at the time of the original 6 indictments announcing that they had found evidence of ballot harvesting activity, with Paxton assuring his constituents, “My office will continue to work with Frio County District Attorney Audrey Louis to protect the integrity of our elections.” The indictments come in response to a years-long series of investigations instigated by Paxton’s Election Integrity Unit. On referral from 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Louis in 2022, Paxton’s office spent two years investigating possible election fraud. They obtained enough evidence to obtain and execute search warrants in 2024, resulting in the series of charges currently being acted on.
Castellano’s lawyer, Don Flanary, claims his client is innocent and that the investigation is politically motivated, saying, “Even if (the) statute was constitutional, she didn’t do anything approaching what they’ve accused her of,” in response to KSAT’s inquiry. Leal also claims innocence, saying she was merely, “leaving flyers at people’s houses.”
All except two of the fifteen suspects have some connection to local politics, according to KSAT. Paxton’s office has pledged to make “election integrity … a central issue.” At the onset of the investigation, Paxton announced, “We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes.”