The Bigger War Behind the Election Battles~Mail Ballot Requests Now Total 643!

Norma Carrillo, Administrative Assistant
Cameron County Elections

Visiting the Elections Office

There is a much larger issue than Saenz vs. Masso, Begum vs. Hernandez or Gomez vs. Avila.  Cameron County elections are not clean.  The disillusionment in the electorate, the low voter turnout certainly is deeply rooted in that common knowledge.  Votes can be bought in Brownsville, Cameron County, overriding ALL the work done by poll watchers, election administrators and ballot counters. 

Election Administrator Roger Ortiz was not in his office Friday morning when Nena and I stopped in to see him.  He was in a training meeting.  Norma Carrillo, Ortiz administrative assistant did visit with us, and, as usual, we came away with a little better understanding of the Election Code and how things work in Cameron County.  

First of all, 643 applications for mail-in ballots have been picked up or sent out with 462 of those automatically mailed to those using mail-ins in the primary.  That was something we learned;  those voting by mail in the primary automatically receive mail-in ballot applications for the run-off.  Here is a brief part of our conversation with Ms. Carrillo:

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  "Can anyone just walk into the elections office and ask for 100 mail-in ballot applications?"

Ms. Carrillo:  "No, we do not allow anyone to get that many.  Candidates are limited to 25 per month and non-candidates to 10 per month."

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  "So, if Ernie Hernandez walks in?  Or Norma?  Or Erin?"

Ms. Carrillo:  "Ernie and Norma as non-candidates could get up to 10 each per month.  Erin, as a candidate could get 25 per month.  But, of course, we accept copies or reasonable facsimiles  or faxes.  

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  "So, really, all you need is one copy and you could go to Staples and make 500 copies?"

Ms. Carrillo:  "That is correct.  We even accept handwritten notes asking for a mail-in ballot."

MEAN MISTER BROWNSVILLE:  The last time we talked with Roger, we looked at the election code and talked to the Legal Department at the Secretary of States' office about assisted ballots.  We learned that generally you can witness one ballot, but assist on an unlimited number.  But, what about the mailing of that ballot?"

Ms. Carrillo:  "The election code is clear.  It is actually illegal to possess someone else's mail-in ballot.  Section VIII, 86.011, article b states that possession of 1-9 mail-in ballots is a Class B misdemeanor, possessing 11-19 is a Class A misdemeanor and possessing 20 or more is a state felony."

Our visit with Ms. Carrillo concluded with our leaving of copies of the Western Blvd. voter records that were color-coded by Laura Miniel for Mr. Ortiz.  We explained the research being done by CAVA, etc. and the obvious geographic patterns indicative of voter harvesting, not random mail-ins as one might expect.  This concentration and pattern of voting was being sent to the Secretary of State, we explained. 

Voter Fraud Negates Polling

Alex Begum told me Wednesday:  "We paid for two polls done scientifically out of Washington, D.C., working from lists of those who voted in the last election.  The question was phrased:  'Who do you support in the Justice of the Peace, District 2-2 race?'  Both polls came out with very similar numbers with an accuracy of, as they say, plus or minus 5%.  The polls indicated my mom(Yolanda Begum) at 28%, Javier Hernandez at 25% and Erin H. Garcia at 15 and 18%.  Yolanda Begum and Javier Hernandez finished that way but somehow Erin got 25%."

OK, Which Candidates Support or Use Politiqueras?

Omar Lucio

Lucio admitted in a 2008 interview with Bobby Wightman-Cervantes that he uses politiqueras.  He does not pay for their services, however, but allows them to intercede for friends who receive traffic tickets.  Any compensation is between the politiquera and the person they are helping.  

Lucio received the exact number of mail-in votes in the primary as Gomez and Masso.  Even Roger Ortiz could see that they used the same politiquera or group of politiqueras.

Carlos Masso

Carlos Masso has spent freely in this election, advertising everywhere including billboards, blogs and signs.  Some have reported that he has outspent his opponent 4-1.  In any event, it's pretty obvious he used the same politiqueras as Lucio and Gomez because of his mail-in totals in the primary.

Erin H. Garcia

Erin and her family are deeply connected to the use of politiqueras.  Her father Ernie was quoted in the Brownsville Herald in 2001 defending their use.  Her mother Norma is generally regarded as a politiquera.  Herminia Becerra attends all of Erin's functions wearing a laminated "administrator" card for the Hernandez campaign.  

Abelardo Gomez

Same mail-in vote total as Masso and Lucio.  Received this unconfirmed comment: 

 " I know Gomez paid each politiquera $350 a week, I know this because they don't care for him and came to us. They asked for the same amount to help us. $350x7 for 8 weeks up to the last election. That's a lot of money, then $350 x7 for the last month of runoff. That's a grand total of $19,600 plus the runoff $9800. AN INCREDIBLE $29,400.00 to politiquera from only Gomez. What a shame that these candidates do this."