Another Democratic judge has been arrested, this time in Texas, over allegations that will no doubt outrage tens of millions of Americans concerned about the integrity of our electoral processes. Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho was arrested for her alleged involvement in a “vote harvesting scheme” alongside five others, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday.
Camacho, an elected judge in Frio County, faces three counts of illegal ballot harvesting related to her 2022 primary campaign, during which she fought a contentious race for her party’s nomination. Also charged in the case are her sister, who serves as the county’s election administrator, two members of the Pearsall, Texas, city council, and another woman.
A multi-year investigation into the 2022 election found that during the Democratic primary, Judge Camacho allegedly secured victory over her opponent, Mary Moore, by enlisting a longtime party operative to collect mail-in ballots, fill out applications, and transport voters to the polls. According to San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT, the operative was reportedly paid between $1,500 and $2,000 for the work.
The operation focused on elderly voters in a Pearsall subdivision. One of Camacho’s accusers claimed that her aide concealed ballots under her shirt to avoid detection by investigators while collecting ballots from seniors’ homes. During her campaign, Camacho ran under the slogan “UNITY, MOVEMENT and PROGRESSION FOR FRIO COUNTY” and used social media to inform voters about the beginning of mail-in ballot distribution, according to posts reviewed by the Daily Caller.
On election night, Camacho defeated Mary Moore by 157 votes, then narrowly secured victory in the runoff by just 72 votes out of 322 cast. Ballot harvesting remains a contentious and legally complex practice in American politics. While some states, like Texas, explicitly ban it, others permit voters to receive assistance from trusted individuals in completing and returning their ballots. Critics argue that the process is highly vulnerable to fraud, particularly following the widespread expansion of mail-in voting during the pandemic.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—who is challenging U.S. Senator John Cornyn from the right in next year’s Republican primary—said in a statement that he hopes this latest case serves as a warning to other elected officials who might consider manipulating the system. “Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” he said.
In addition to Camacho’s indictment, Paxton has secured convictions against four other individuals stemming from ballot harvesting in the 2020 election, including an elected county commissioner. A guilty verdict of ballot harvesting can carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.