A sitting Democratic judge in South Texas and five additional individuals have been indicted on charges related to an alleged vote harvesting scheme tied to the 2022 Democratic primary election, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced on Wednesday.
Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho, an elected Democrat serving in Frio County, was formally charged with three counts of vote harvesting stemming from her 2022 primary campaign.
This is Rochelle Camacho, a Democrat judge in Texas who was just indicted on 3 counts of vote harvesting… Imagine that.
What should her prison sentence be? pic.twitter.com/TcnQu4pwyv
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 8, 2025
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According to a press release issued by the Office of the Attorney General, the charges followed a multi-year investigation launched after Camacho’s former primary opponent, Mary Moore, filed an official complaint.
The complaint accused Camacho of orchestrating a scheme that involved hiring a known Democratic political operative to collect mail-in ballots, submit ballot applications, and transport voters to polling sites.
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According to KSAT, a San Antonio-based ABC affiliate, the operative was allegedly paid between $1,500 and $2,500 for the work.
The indictment also names the county’s trustee—identified as Camacho’s sister—the county’s election administrator, two Pearsall city council members, and another woman.
Specific charges were not disclosed in full, but all six individuals were implicated in the same alleged vote harvesting operation.
According to Newsweek, investigators discovered that the vote harvesting operation targeted elderly residents living in a Pearsall subdivision.
In one reported instance, a participant in the scheme was observed concealing completed ballots under her shirt and utilizing multiple vehicles to avoid detection by authorities.
Camacho, who ran on a campaign platform promising “UNITY, MOVEMENT and PROGRESSION FOR FRIO COUNTY,” posted on social media in 2022 about early voting and mail ballot availability.
She narrowly defeated Moore by 157 votes in the initial primary election and went on to win the runoff by a margin of just 72 votes out of 322 ballots cast.
Vote harvesting, a practice that involves the collection and delivery of completed absentee or mail-in ballots by third parties, is illegal in the state of Texas.
Under Texas election law, ballots must be completed and submitted by the voter or authorized close family members. Violations can result in criminal charges.
“Elected officials who think they can cheat to stay in power will be held accountable. No one is above the law,” Paxton said in a statement.
Four individuals involved in the case were arrested on May 2, according to Paxton’s office.
Judge Camacho has not yet been taken into custody but will be processed at a later date. The name of the sixth suspect was not released at the time of publication.
Vote harvesting is classified as a third-degree felony in Texas, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
This case marks the latest in a series of election-related prosecutions by the Attorney General’s office.
In 2020, four individuals, including a county commissioner, were charged with similar offenses involving unlawful ballot collection.
Attorney General Paxton, who recently announced a primary campaign for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Senator John Cornyn, has made election integrity a central theme of his political platform.
🚨 BREAKING: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton officially announces he is running for U.S. Senate and will challenge John Cornyn in the Republican Primary. pic.twitter.com/GOdna4wEfP
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 8, 2025
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