This is all beginning to look a little familiar. After the RNLA highlighted two different ballot trafficking rings in Arizona and in Philadelphia earlier this month––both of which led to guilty pleas by the perpetrators–– another was recently uncovered by law enforcement in Texas. On Friday, June 17, one woman in Texas pleaded guilty to 26 felony counts of voter fraud following the discovery of a ballot trafficking scheme she was operating.
Voter fraud is real, and it's a real threat. That's why I have a whole Unit devoted to stopping it. My office's commitment to election integrity ensures Texas has the safest elections in the country. Here's one of our successful recent cases: https://t.co/Uu0rzxDUPp
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) June 17, 2022
Monica Mendez operated a vote trafficking scheme that attempted to influence the results of a local utiliity board election. She ran the operation on behalf of a subsidized housing corporation that was looking to influence the election to benefit a particular candidate. According to a recent press release from the office of the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, her guilty plea includes 26 felony counts, including:
"three counts of illegal voting, eight counts of election fraud, seven counts of assisting a voter to submit a ballot by mail, and eight counts of unlawful possession of a mail ballot."
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident for Texas. Paxton has found and convicted multiple instances of voter fraud due to ballot harvesting since the formation of his Election Integrity Unit. Almost one year ago, the Attorney General of the Lone Star state announced that over 500 election fraud cases were pending in court. Voter fraud cases have been taken more seriously in Texas after Governor Greg Abbott signed S.B. 1, an effective election integrity package, into law.
Texas woman pleads guilty on 26 counts of voter fraud over alleged vote harvesting operation.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 19, 2022
Voter fraud is prosecuted in Texas. https://t.co/T4Yslw4wtU
The new law has helped law enforcement prosecute numerous voter fraud cases and safeguard election integrity. Despite the bill increasing access to voting while cracking down on opportunities for fraud, the Left has incessantly criticized the new rules from their inception. When Governor Abbott initially signed the bill into law, the Texas Democrats responded with a joint statement calling the bill "racist" and "anti-democrac[tic]." The fabricated uproar from Democrats eventually led to the Biden Administration initiating a suit against Texas over the law in September of last year. The District Court is set to review the case following the 2022 election.
Biden is coming after Texas for SB1, our recently enacted election integrity law. It’s a great and a much-needed bill. Ensuring Texas has safe, secure, and transparent elections is a top priority of mine. I will see you in court, Biden! #ElectionIntegrity https://t.co/3A6FgzX3hw
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 4, 2021
Bring it.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 4, 2021
The Texas election integrity law is legal.
It INCREASES hours to vote.
It does restrict illegal mail ballot voting. Only those who qualify can vote by mail.
It also makes ballot harvesting a felony.
In Texas it is easier to vote but harder to cheat. https://t.co/VYTyqP6I0Q
It appears ballot trafficking is much more prevalent than Democrats are willing to admit, especially as this case in Texas marks the third guilty plea of a political operative running ballot trafficking scheme this month. It's clear that strong election integrity laws are vital to expose and stop this kind of fraud.