Texas Indicts 15 Including Former Mayors and Candidate in Vote Harvesting Case

Texas Vote Harvesting Indictments Expose Deep Local Corruption

• Major vote harvesting probe has led to indictments of local Democrats and officials.
• Authorities say this was coordinated, not isolated, raising election integrity concerns.
• Defendants call the case politically motivated, but the evidence demands answers.

Texas authorities have uncovered what looks like one of the largest vote harvesting scandals in recent years, with fifteen people charged including a former Texas House candidate and several local officials.

The indictments, handed down June 30, come after a months-long probe led by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the 81st Judicial District Attorney’s Office and suggest a serious breakdown of local safeguards.

Seven accused turned themselves in to the Frio County Jail on July 2, with more expected to follow as the investigation expands and scrutiny deepens.

Those charged include familiar South Texas names: Juan Manuel Medina, a onetime Bexar County Democrat Party Chair and former San Antonio mayoral hopeful, faces two counts of vote harvesting.

Petra Davina Trevino, former mayor of Pearsall, faces a single count while Inelda Rodriguez, ex-Dilley council member, was indicted on three counts.

Mary Ann Obregon, another former Dilley mayor, is charged with two counts as investigators piece together a pattern of coordinated behavior.

Most notable is Cecilia Castellano, who ran for the Texas House in District 80 in 2024 and now faces two counts of vote harvesting after carrying Webb County during her campaign.

Her attorney, Don Flanary, dismissed the charges as “politically motivated harassment by Ken Paxton and the AG’s office,” insisting the statute itself is under legal challenge.

That defense is predictable, but the number of defendants and the local official involvement make this more than a simple political spat.

Other named defendants include Rachel Leal, who says she only left flyers and never handled ballots, Raul Carrizales III, a sitting Frio County Commissioner, and Maricela Garcia Benavides of the Pearsall ISD Board.

This is not an isolated wave; earlier arrests in May swept up six officials, including the Frio County Judge and Pearsall council members, pointing to systemic problems.

Republicans have long warned about ballot manipulation, and these indictments give fresh urgency to efforts to harden election security and restore voter confidence across Texas.