A Democratic judge in Texas, along with five additional individuals, has been indicted in connection with what authorities describe as a “vote harvesting scheme,” according to a Wednesday announcement from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.
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Rochelle Lozano Camacho, who serves as an elected judge in Frio County, is facing three counts of vote harvesting related to her 2022 primary election campaign, Paxton’s office said in a press release. Among those also indicted are her sister, who is a county trustee, the county’s election administrator, two Pearsall city council members, and another woman.
The Daily Caller reports that the indictments are the result of a lengthy investigation that began in 2022 after Mary Moore, Camacho’s opponent in the Democratic primary runoff, filed a formal complaint, as reported by KSAT, an ABC affiliate in San Antonio. Moore accused Camacho of employing a longtime Democratic political operative to handle mail-in ballot applications, collect ballots, and transport voters to polling sites. The operative was allegedly compensated between $1,500 and $2,500.
Newsweek reported that Camacho’s alleged efforts were focused on elderly residents in a Pearsall subdivision. One alleged co-conspirator is said to have hidden ballots under her shirt and used various vehicles to avoid being tracked by investigators.
During her campaign, Camacho promoted themes of “UNITY, MOVEMENT and PROGRESSION FOR FRIO COUNTY,” and notified voters when early voting and mail-outs began in 2022. She won the primary against Moore by 157 votes and went on to win the runoff election by a margin of 72 votes out of 322 ballots cast.
Vote harvesting involves third-party collection and delivery of completed absentee or mail-in ballots. Although voters are required to fill out and seal their ballots themselves, others are sometimes enlisted to submit them. The practice is prohibited in several states, including Texas.
Paxton, who has announced a primary run against current Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 midterm elections, emphasized his commitment to prosecuting public officials who engage in election fraud.
“Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Paxton stated.
The attorney general’s office previously filed vote harvesting charges against four individuals in 2020, one of whom was a county commissioner.
According to Paxton’s statement, all of the accused parties aside from Judge Camacho were taken into custody on May 2. Camacho is expected to be processed at a later time. In Texas, vote harvesting is considered a third-degree felony and carries potential penalties of up to a decade in prison and a $10,000 fine, adds the Caller.
