Officials in rural Texas are accused of paying campaign worker who told elderly people how to vote: docs
Six people, including multiple public officials, have been arrested and charged as part of a long-running investigation into an alleged “vote harvesting” scheme in a rural Texas county against vulnerable seniors during 2022 and 2023 elections.
“The people of Texas deserve fair and honest elections, not backroom deals and political insiders rigging the system,” Texas Attorney General Paxton
said in a statement Wednesday announcing the arrests. “Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
The accused include Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho; former Frio County elections administrator Carlos Segura; Pearsall City Council members Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Garza; Pearsall school district trustee Adriann Ramirez; and campaign worker Rosa Rodriguez.
Candidates for local office allegedly paid a campaign worker named Cheryl Denise Castillo to collect ballots from voters at senior citizens complexes, according to court documents
obtained by The Washington Post.
Castillo, who died last year, allegedly prepared ballots for individuals, influenced their voting choices, and assisted individuals who were ineligible for such support under state voting law.
In one December 2023 instance, the campaign worker allegedly told a candidate for sheriff she wouldn’t help voters who supported her clients’ rivals.
