The Monitor reports on a case that few outside Texas’ Rio Grande Valley likely will, perhaps because it goes against the narrative that voter fraud is “non-existent” or is not “widespread” enough to affect the outcome of elections.  But like the recent indictments of politiqueras in Hidalgo and Cameron counties, Lopez v. Rivera fits a pattern of persistent, widespread fraud and corruption that does influence the outcome of local elections – and disenfranchise legitimate voters – in overwhelmingly Democratic South Texas.

In the contested Weslaco City Commission election, just 16 votes separate challenger Leticia Lopez from incumbent Lupe Rivera, far fewer than the number of alleged illegal votes counted, and legal votes improperly rejected, due to mail ballot manipulation, vote buying, official misconduct, and illegal voter registrations – including one home where 23 people are registered to vote.

“The case has been working its way toward a court decision with a discovery process largely defined by Lopez’s side trying to collect depositions from dozens of voters and Rivera’s side filing motions to stop them from doing so.”  The attorney on ‘Rivera’s side’ attempting to block voter depositions is Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa.

“Lopez’s allegations essentially accuse the Rivera campaign of a concentrated effort to use politiqueras to register voters in the district — whether they were eligible to vote there or not — and of interfering with mail-in ballots. The lawsuit lists voters it is questioning, especially in small homes where large numbers of people voted.”

Lopez’s attorney Jerad Najvar says, “This case presents a critical opportunity to achieve justice in a case of apparent voter fraud, including allegations of non-resident voting and various illegalities with mail-in votes handled by the Rivera campaign.”

“Look, this is a civil rights case… If, as we have alleged, a campaign packs a district with people who don’t really live there and manipulates the mail-in ballots, it’s taking the election out of the hands of the voters.  I hope that what comes out of this is people see you don’t have to put up with this anymore.”