For "Thunder on the Border," click the picture:
Posted on 12/24/2005 4:54:20 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Politiqueras are accused of helping the elderly — as a way to get to their mail-in ballots
MCALLEN - They charm their way into the homes of elderly Hispanics and other vulnerable souls along the Texas-Mexico border. They help them with ordinary tasks, picking up their groceries or taking them to the doctor.
Then suddenly, these intruders steal a cherished thing from their victims: Their vote.
The indictment Wednesday of nine people in an alleged voter fraud scheme in McAllen opened a window into the hidden world of politiqueras, the paid political activists whose controversial ways are under scrutiny in South Texas.
Hidalgo County authorities allege that politiqueras bought and sold votes before the May 7 mayoral race in McAllen. The indictment charges nine people with electoral violations. They include Elvira Rios and her sister, Alicia Liscano Molina, two politiqueras known for their activism in the Rio Grande Valley.
"Our investigation revealed these politiqueras were preying on elderly voters," said Texas Ranger Israel Pacheco, who headed the inquiry.
After befriending their victims, the political activists allegedly took their mail-in ballots and made sure that the names of the activists' favorite candidates were checked off before sending them in, authorities say.
"They would go to them under the pretext of assisting them in voting. But the investigation showed none of them (the victims) knew who they voted for; the politiqueras took off with the ballots," Pacheco said.
"Unfortunately, the politiqueras crossed over the line," said Nedra Kinerk, president of Futuro McAllen, a citizens group that examined 902 of the 961 mail-in ballots in the May 7 election. "From what I saw of the mail-in ballots, they were full of illegal assistance."
About 40 percent of the applications for mail-in ballots were received at City Hall on the same day, indicating they likely were mailed in batches, Kinerk said.
"We even had three dead people apply for ballots, and sign their names. And we had applications for one voter from three different politiqueras," she said.
Almost all the political workers who allegedly took part in the scheme were Hispanic women who gained the trust of their victims by helping them with such tasks as making doctor's appointments or applying for government benefits, officials said.
Sudden turnaround Candidate Richard Cortez was leading former Mayor Othal Brand Sr. in the May election on the day of the vote. Brand was knocked out of the running when it was announced that Rick Godinez, a city commissioner, had won 80 percent of the mail-in ballots. That made Godinez the leading vote getter and the one to benefit most from the politiqueras' efforts because he likely would not have made the subsequent runoff election without the mail-in votes, said Teresa Navarro, the Hidalgo County election administrator.
"That was a contributing factor in the candidate being able to qualify for the runoff," she said.
Godinez was not charged with a crime. Cortez defeated him in a runoff and is now mayor.
Those indicted included Othal Brand Jr., who managed his 85-year-old father's unsuccessful bid to regain the mayor's office.
The indictment against the ex-mayor's son startled Pacheco, who said the younger Brand had played a key role in exposing the alleged violations.
"There was nothing in our investigation that showed he did anything wrong," Pacheco said, referring to Brand. "It sets a bad precedent when you indict the person who brought these criminal acts to the attention of law enforcement."
After the May election, Othal Brand Jr. gave reporters a video recording of a meeting he had with Jose "Joey" Eliseo Lopez, a 22-year-old McAllen college student who allegedly offered to deliver the Brand campaign 400 mail-in ballots for $4,000.
Lopez, who could not be reached for comment, has told reporters he accepted money from Brand but never intended to deliver any votes.
"I'm surprised," Othal Brand Jr. said of the charges. "I say time will take care of it. I have no doubt it will all be fine in the end. I do not believe there are any grounds for a criminal indictment."
Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said his office did not present a case against Brand Jr. to the grand jury that handed down the indictments.
He said his staff would review the evidence against Brand Jr. before deciding whether to prosecute him.
Pacecho, the Texas Ranger who headed the investigation, said Brand had first contacted the FBI office about the alleged vote selling, and was referred to state officials because it was a city election.
That left the matter in the hands of Guerra, who enforces state laws, but Pacheco said he doesn't think the district attorney was aggressive enough and should have promptly asked for help from the Texas Attorney General's office.
"I don't think everyone involved was charged," Pacheco said. "I think if the Attorney General investigation came in earlier as requested ... we would have found out who all the suspects are and who was doing this."
Casework criticized Guerra, who said he did not ask the grand jury to indict Brand Jr., faults the Texas Ranger investigation. He said the tape recording did not make it clear who was soliciting the fraudulent votes.
"I wish the FBI had kept the case, they would have controlled the recording and made it a better quality recording," Guerra said.
Meantime, county officials worry about the lingering influence of politiqueras.
They are a "big factor," in local elections, said Navarro, the elections administrator.
"The majority of mail-in ballots in local elections come with the assistance of the politiqueras being out there, pounding the street, going door-to-door, and knowing who votes by mail," she said.
Guerra said election-related fraud is widespread in the county, adding he hopes the indictments will serve as a warning for candidates in next year's elections.
"You have some some people who promise they will deliver so many votes for the money they've been paid, and I wish that would stop," Guerra said. "But some candidate will pay campaign workers to go out and hustle voters so they can get elected that way, through the mail-in effort."
Kinerk believes the indictments will force politiqueras to get out of the business.
"In Hidalgo and McAllen we've said 'basta!' — enough! — and we're trying to stop these illegal practices."
Well-rooted system Still, some longtime observers of border culture say it will be hard to get rid of politiqueras.
"The system is a way for a candidate to recruit voters in the barrios in the Rio Grande Valley," said Anthony Knopp, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville.
"They way it operates is those who have influence in the barrio will be provided 'gas money' to bring their friends and associates to the polls," Knopp said.
Other election traditions are changing "but the politiquera is going to endure for quite some time, because it's a way of directly obtaining support."
And soon the libs will be telling us all about voter fraud in Iraq.
The corrupt Mexican culture is a way of life wherever you have large concentrations of illegals, who should be prosecuted for voting in the first place and who should be kicked out of Texas because they have no business being here However, when everyone is named Manuel Garcia or Jose Mendez, it's tough to figure out who is a legal voter and who isn't. What a crooked mess we have in the Valley of Texas! The only guy to get indicted is the guy who turned in the crooks...nice South Texas Mexican justice!
Say it isn't so!
/sarcasm
;-)
Any clue what political party the alleged fraudsters belong to?
According to Bush they must be Republicans!
For "Thunder on the Border," click the picture:
The sheer brazeness of it is enough to gag a maggot. Let's take a look at what was actually said, although I do have to admit the one doing the saying is a sociology (need anything else be said?) professor.
""The system is a way for a candidate to recruit voters in the barrios in the Rio Grande Valley," said Anthony Knopp, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Brownsville.
"They way it operates is those who have influence in the barrio will be provided 'gas money' to bring their friends and associates to the polls," Knopp said.
Other election traditions are changing "but the politiquera is going to endure for quite some time, because it's a way of directly obtaining support.""
This "professor" seems to confuse voter recruitment with egregious voter fraud. Odds are he is a Democrat.
As for "it's a way of directly obtaining support.", the professor again seems to have trouble with basic American English.
He confuses "obtaining" with "fraudulently buying" voter support.
At the risk of being called 'culturally unaware', culturally insensitive, anti-Hispanic, blah, blah, blabber, blabber, I must here point out that Spanish culture was heavily influenced by the Moors (Arabs) and the Spanish acceptance of bribery can be traced to that period of Spanish history.
Add the Spanish acceptance of bribery to the Democratic Party's well honed skills at registering the dead, ad nauseam - is it any wonder that this scandal occured?
Liberals have used similar tactics in the black community, what makes anyone think they haven`t set their sites on the Hispanic? Thats why they proselytize socialism so strongly in the minority communities, set your cronies in positions of power, push your liberalism to destroy the fabric of the community and they become dependent on government largess and it`s proponents to survive.A captive and self-perpetuating voting block.
Want to bet what party these stolen votes support?
They're here and brought their culture, language, and way of life, warts and all, with them -- too many to assimilate and turn into Americans. It's de facto invasion and the admin. is doing too little, too late.
Politiqueras Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Bingo!
So true...
There was a great article in the Dallas Observer a while back about how this game is played in Dallas.
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