(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) More than a dozen individuals—including top former Democratic officials—have been indicted in a massive ballot-harvesting scheme targeting Hispanic voters in Texas, Headline USA can confirm.
Texas state prosecutors allege that the operation consisted of collecting signed mail-in ballots to deliver them to polling locations. This violates Texas law, which only allows ballot harvesting in very limited circumstances.
Some of the individuals indicted include well-known local politicians in Texas.
In a phone interview with Headline USA, the Frio County Jail confirmed that most of the individuals were booked between July 2 and July 3. Their charges were first reported by KSAT:
- Former Bexar County Democratic Party Chair and former San Antonio mayoral candidate Juan Manuel Medina (two counts of vote harvesting).
- Former Pearsall Mayor Petra Davina Trevino (one count of vote harvesting).
- Former Dilley council member Inelda Rodriguez (three counts of vote harvesting).
- Former Dilley Mayor Mary Ann Obregon (two counts of vote harvesting).
- Rachel Leal (one count of vote harvesting).
- Former Texas House candidate Cecilia Castellano (two counts of vote harvesting)
- Susanna Flores Carrizales (one count of vote harvesting).
- Precinct 3 Frio County Commissioner Raul Carrizales III (one count of vote harvesting).
- Pearsall ISD Board Secretary Maricela Garcia Benavides (one count of vote harvesting).
A jail official could not immediately locate Flores Carrizales’s arrest record.
Meanwhile, Castellano’s attorney told KSAT that the charges were “politically motivated,” though he offered no evidence to support that claim.
The thing that never happens just happened again. You’ll never guess which party was involved. pic.twitter.com/wnBnc2ESad
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 7, 2025
These arrests follow separate indictments from earlier this year involving six others connected to the same alleged plot.
It included Pearsall City Council members Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Garza (one count of vote harvesting each), Pearsall Independent School District board member Adriann Ramirez (three counts of vote harvesting), former Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura (one count of tampering with evidence), and campaign worker Rosa Rodriguez (two counts of vote harvesting).
This is a developing story.
