AG investigates possible voter fraud in El Paso

Aileen B. Flores, El Paso Times
10:07 p.m. MST January 24, 2016


(Photo: El Paso Times file photo)


The Texas Attorney General's Office is investigating former State Rep. Inocente “Chente” Quintanilla and Justice of the Peace Enedina “Nina” Serna for alleged voter fraud.

The investigation originated from a complaint made by former Justice of the Peace Rosalie Dominguez, who lost her bench to Serna in the 2014 Democratic primary election. Her complaint deals with mailed absentee ballots in the May 27, 2014, primary run-off election.

The El Paso Times submitted an open records request on Jan. 8 asking for copies of all documents related to a complaint filed with the Attorney General’s Office and the Texas Secretary of State regarding possible voter fraud involving Serna, Quintanilla and others.

A longtime area politician, Quintanilla is currently running for the District 75 state representative seat he previously held. Quintanilla, of Tornillo, was a state representative for 10 years. He is a former educator and school district administrator and has served on the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees and on the Tornillo Municipal Water District.

“Specifically, it’s alleged several individuals unlawfully assisted voters, possessed carrier envelopes without providing information required by law, and coerced voters to vote for a particular candidate by threatening retaliation in court.”
General report issued by AG's Open Records Division

In a Jan. 15 email, the AG’s Open Records Division issued a copy of a general report stating that on Dec. 18, 2014, the Texas Secretary of State transferred a criminal investigation to the Texas Attorney General’s Office regarding alleged voter fraud in El Paso County during the 2014 primary run-off election.

“Specifically, it’s alleged several individuals unlawfully assisted voters, possessed carrier envelopes without providing information required by law, and coerced voters to vote for a particular candidate by threatening retaliation in court,” the report states.

The Open Records Division also issued a letter stating that the remaining information is “exempted” from public disclosure because it would interfere with a criminal investigation if released.

“In this instance, Exhibit B pertains to an open and pending criminal investigation being conducted by the OAG’s Criminal Prosecutions Division. Release of the information at this time would interfere with this pending case,” the documents state.

In a letter to the attorney general, Keith Ingram, director of elections for the Secretary of State’s Office, said that the allegations in this case involve Class A and Class B misdemeanor offenses.

Officials with El Paso District Attorney's Office and El Paso County Elections Department said they have not been approached by investigators.

Serna did not return messages seeking comment.
Quintanilla declined to comment, stating that he did not know anything about the Texas Attorney General’s pending investigation.

Quintanilla said he is aware of the civil lawsuit that Dominguez filed against him, Serna and other people.
“I’ve heard about the civil suit. That’s the one I know of," he said.

In 2014, Dominguez filed two lawsuits against Serna and several people who helped in her campaign, including Quintanilla and Justice of the Peace Ruben Lujan.

In the lawsuits, Dominguez is challenging the results of the election and alleges that Serna and several of her supporters manipulated the election process by taking advantage of the elderly.

One of the lawsuits claims that Serna and her associates violated the Texas Election Code by filling out early voting ballot applications for senior voters, and in some cases, telling them how to vote. The suit also alleges that voters who do not live in the Justice of the Peace 6 Place 2 district cast ballots in that race.

Dominguez alleges that at least 44 voters did not request voting applications for ballots, but they were mailed out by the former El Paso County Election Administrator Javier Chacon. At the time, Chacon argued that there were no irregularities in the election process.

At the time, Dominguez said she filed suit after an investigation by a private investigator firm discovered that applications and mailed in ballots were mishandled during the 2014 election.

Investigators at the time interviewed 40 people, 35 of whom provided sworn statements. The statement are attached to the lawsuits.

Early voting for the 2016 primary will be from Feb. 16 to 26. Election Day is March 1.

Aileen B. Flores may be reached at 546-6362; aflores@elpasotimes.com. @AileenBFlores on Twitter.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/new...paso/79140302/