Cameron County Stonewalls Clean Election Fight; Dylvia Jeffries Vega, Arcelia Villalon

Election Judge Arcelia Villalon Conferring
with the Andrades of the Abelardo Gomez Camp
During Early Voting At Cameron Park

Bloggers, CAVA Summit in Cascos' Office Fruitless

The meeting in County Judge Carlos Cascos office August 17, 2012 to discuss voter fraud was merely a publicity stunt by the judge to placate that noisy, troublesome element in Cameron County who insist on clean elections.  Wasting an hour of their lives at the vent session were Mary Helen Flores of Citizens Against Voter Abuse(CAVA), and bloggers Juan Montoya, Jerry McHale, Nena and Jim Barton. 

County Judge Carlos Cascos

At the meeting promises were made by Cascos, including written answers to 18 questions submitted to Election Administrator Roger Ortiz about the handling of elections.  Not surprisingly, 2-1/2 months later, those basic questions have not been answered in writing or orally.  Instead, the county has taken an even harder line with respect to opening their records by inserting Dylvia Jeffries-Vega as an additional barrier to responsiveness.  Hiding relevant information from citizens violates the law and mocks democracy. 

Election Administrator Roger Ortiz

Despite the constant stonewalling and evasiveness by Election Administrator Roger Ortiz, eventually some information is reluctantly delivered.  A simple list of election judges and poll workers was finally delivered to CAVA at the end of October after being submitted July 31.  That list revealed the name of the Election Judge at the Cameron Park polling place who openly cavorted with members of the Abelardo Gomez camp, namely the Andrades brothers, while on the clock as Election Judge at Cameron Park as Arcelia Villalon.  The Andrades, who allegedly are connected to so-called 8-liner establishments are said to have contributed heavily to the Gomez campaign.  Villalon, of course, had no business conferring with a candidate's camp during polling hours, but, of course, this is Cameron County where blatant election fraud is tolerated and protected by elected officials.





Here are the questions Election Administrator Roger Ortiz will not answer.

1.  Did Roger Ortiz hire all the current employees in the elections department?

2.  Please review the list of election department employees and list which are temporary workers.  What are the credentials required for temporary workers?  How are temporary workers supervised and disciplined?

3.  Please describe, in general, how the yearly budget of the county elections department is used. 

4.  How often and in what way are voter rolls updated to ensure that the deceased, noncitizens and persons who have moved out of the area are not on the list?

5.  Who is allowed access to add and or remove voters from the voter rolls?

6.  It appears that there are several family members working within the elections department.  What is the hiring policy within the elections department with regard to nepotism?

7.  There have been several eyewitness accounts of an Amadeo Rodriguez accessing materials in the elections department warehouse before, during and after the recent elections.  There is no employment record of an Amadeo Rodriguez with the elections department.  Joann Gonzalez, a warehouse employee, is reported to be the sister of Amadeo Rodriguez.  Please explain who has access to the elections warehouse during election time and the security measures in place to prevent any tampering with election materials.  

8.  Please explain the department’s policy and schedule for recruiting and training election judges and clerks.  Please describe the hiring process for election judges and clerks.  Must election judges and election clerks be a registered voters?

9.  Please explain the job description of Adriana Villarreal and her dates of employment with the election department. (Ms. Villarreal stated to CAVA and others that she is the election department employee responsible for hiring election workers)

• We have several sworn statements from voters who were turned away from being election workers due to their affiliation with particular candidates. 
• We have received complaints about election judges and clerks working at polling places who had affiliations with particular candidates.
• We have received complaints from voters about teenagers serving as election judges in a disorganized and disruptive manner at polling places.
• We have received complaints from voters about polling places opening late during elections.
• We have received complaints from voters about long-standing polling place entrances being moved without proper notice being posted on the buildings.      
• We have sworn statements from voters who witnessed ballots being removed from early voting locations by non-election workers for curbside voting.
• We have sworn statements from voters who witnessed electioneering within certain early voting locations and within the 100 foot perimeter of a polling place.
• We have sworn statements from voters who witnessed curbside voting assistance given by van drivers without the administration of the required oath or the required supervision by election judges or clerks.
• We have sworn statements from voters who witnessed poll watchers for particular candidates taking photographs, in an intimidating manner, within the polling place.
• We have sworn statements from voters who witnessed phone calls being made to a particular candidate telling her to take the vans to another polling location because there were poll watchers at a particular polling place.
• We are finding that election judges and clerks were allowed to work without being registered voters, to work in polling places outside of their district, and some workers may not be United States citizens.   

10.  What is the process the elections department uses to address complaints such as those listed above?

11.  Has any complaint of any election code violation ever been submitted or pursued by the elections department to the proper law enforcement authorities?

12.  Are requests for mail-in ballot applications received one at a time?  Does the elections department accept lists of voters to be submitted for requests for mail-in ballot applications?  Does the elections department receive 100 or more mail-in ballot applications on any given day?

13.  It was reported by elections department personnel that “a bunch of mail-ins have already been rejected” prior to the early vote count of the May 29^th election.  What were the reasons for rejecting mail-in ballot carrier envelopes prior to the early vote count in the May and July elections.  How many mail-in ballot carrier envelopes were rejected prior to the early vote count in May and July?          

14.   Please describe the function of the early voting ballot board?  Who may serve on the early voting ballot board?  What is the training required for a ballot board member?  Are there term limits for a ballot board member? 

15.  We have received complaints from voters about public records being requested from the elections department and the information requested is said to be unavailable.  We are referring to 2008 primary and general election combination forms (originals with referring to 2008 primary and general election combination forms (originals with signatures) and 2010 runoff elections mail-in ballots.  Please explain. 

16.  What is the educational and employment background of Roger Ortiz?

17.  How often are job performance reviews conducted for elections department personnel?  What are the criteria for firing someone?

18.  We are, today, requesting a copy of a letter from Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos to the Texas Secretary of State and to the Texas Attorney General asking for an immediate review of our county election system and a forensic audit of the county elections department.     

Citizens Against Voter Abuse – Cameron County, Texas

Mary Helen Flores, CAVA Admin., 956-371-9177

cavacamco@gmail.com