Nine Indicted In Texas Fraud Case
A South Texas grand jury has indicted nine individuals in connection with an alleged ballot harvesting operation, expanding Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ongoing voter fraud investigation. The latest indictments bring the total number of individuals charged in the probe to 15.
Among those indicted is Manuel Medina, a former chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party and a one-time legislative aide. Cecilia Castellano, a former candidate for the Texas House of Representatives in a district encompassing Frio County, has also been charged.
Castellano faces two counts of vote harvesting. Her attorney, Don Flanary, has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the conduct in question may not even qualify as a crime under pending federal court review.
Additional individuals named in the indictments include former mayors of Pearsall and Dilley, along with other local officials from those cities and Frio County. Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho, currently serving in Frio County, faces three charges of illegal ballot harvesting tied to her 2022 primary campaign.
Her sister, the county’s election administrator, is also among those indicted, alongside two Pearsall city council members and another woman whose identity has not been publicly disclosed.
The investigation stems from allegations of systematic vote collection during recent local election cycles. In May, Paxton’s office announced six prior indictments related to the same investigation. The total now stands at 15, with additional charges potentially forthcoming.
Attorney General Paxton, who is positioning himself as a staunch defender of election integrity in a prospective Republican primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn, emphasized that public officials attempting to manipulate the electoral process will be prosecuted.
“Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable,” Paxton said in a formal statement. “No one is above the law.”
The Attorney General’s office has not released detailed evidence supporting the charges. However, the investigation continues to widen, suggesting a focused effort to address alleged voter manipulation in several counties across South Texas.