AG Paxtons Office Continues Investigation of Illegal Voting Scheme Tied to City of Edinburgs 2017 Election

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas  Attorney General Ken Paxton today said his office continues to investigate allegations of voter fraud stemming from last years Edinburg municipal election. Late last week investigators from the attorney generals voter fraud unit with assistance from the Texas Rangers arrested four people in Hidalgo County for voter fraud. Crystal Lee Ponce Maria San Juanita Aleman and Veronica Vela Saenz were arrested for illegal voting a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10000 fine. Jose Antonio Vela II is charged with making a false statement on a voter registration form a Class B misdemeanor.

These arrests further demonstrate my offices commitment to ensuring that the voting process is secure and fair in all Texas elections" Attorney General Paxton said. Anyone who attempts to deprive the people of Texas of their voice by undermining the integrity of elections will be brought to justice and penalized by the full extent of the law."

The four arrests are part of a joint investigation by Attorney General Paxtons office the Texas Rangers and the Hidalgo County district attorneys office into an organized illegal voting scheme carried out in the November 2017 city of Edinburg election. The attorney generals office encourages individuals to come forward and cooperate as arrests continue in this ongoing investigation. Attorney General Paxton has made elections integrity a top priority. Currently his office is prosecuting nine counts of voter fraud from the 2016 election cycle in Nueces County and two counts of non-citizen election fraud from the November 2016 general election in Harris County. In February the attorney general announced a significant voter fraud initiative and addressed key problems and policy areas related to election law.