Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday his office will prosecute three Robstown residents who were recently indicted by a grand jury on nine counts of voter fraud during the 2016 Nueces County election cycle.
A San Patricio County grand jury handed down the indictments, charging three individuals with violations of the Texas Election Code. They charged Cynthia Kay Gonzalez, 56, on four counts of election fraud stemming from the May 2016 Nueces County Democratic primary runoff election. The charges against her include illegal voting, a second-degree felony punishable by a prison term of two to 20 years, if convicted.
The grand jury also charged Rosita Torres Flores, 76, with two counts of voter fraud. She’s accused of obtaining an elderly victim’s mail-in ballot and using it to vote without the voter’s direction during the 2016 general election, according to a press release from the AG’s office.
Lastly, the grand jury charged Robert Gonzalez, 46, with three counts of unlawfully divulging a vote, a third-degree felony. In 2016, Gonzalez appeared on the ballot as a candidate for the Robstown Municipal Utility Board runoff election. He was charged with observing the secret ballot of another voter in a polling place and unlawfully divulging the person’s vote.
“Nothing is more vital to our democracy than the integrity of our voting process, and my office will do everything within its abilities to solidify trust in every election in the state of Texas,” said Paxton. “We’re grateful to Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands for uncovering these election fraud cases. I’m hopeful these prosecutions will send a message that deters voter fraud in the future.”
“Nothing is more vital to our democracy than the integrity of our voting process, and my office will do everything within its abilities to solidify trust in every election in the state of Texas,” said Paxton in a prepared statement. “We’re grateful to Nueces County Clerk Kara Sands for uncovering these election fraud cases. I’m hopeful these prosecutions will send a message that deters voter fraud in the future.”
Breitbart Texas reported that Nueces County is one of several Texas counties under investigation by Paxton’s office over voter fraud. Last year, Sands filed a complaint on possible electioneering and illegal voter assistance in 2016.
On Twitter, the Public Interest Legal Foundation praised the Texas AG for moving to prosecute the Nueces County cases. The election integrity law firm noted that the Texas Legislature “needs to reform mail balloting procedures” by implementing “voter ID enhancements.”
Hats off to @KenPaxtonTX for moving to prosecute #VoterFraud in Nueces County, #TEXAS. The #TXleg needs to reform mail balloting procedures with more #VoterID enhancements. #txlege
— PublicInterestLegal (@PILFoundation) March 7, 2018
Recently, Breitbart Texas reported that Paxton offered Starr County District Attorney Omar Escobar assistance in a separate voter fraud crackdown. So far, seven people have been arrested.
Follow Merrill Hope, a member of the original Breitbart Texas team, on Twitter.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.