Mexican woman living in Houston charged with illegally voting

Photo: MCSO Laura Janeth Garza

AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton promised to prosecute a Mexican woman indicted by a grand jury last week on two charges of illegally voting in Harris County during the 2016 presidential election after allegedly trying to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally registering to vote.

The case comes amid increased attention on voter fraud nationally and in Texas, where a Dallas-area woman was sentenced to eight years in prison for illegally voting and another woman from Tarrant County faces to five years in prison for voting while on probation.

Laura Janeth Garza, 38, who is registered as a Mexican national, was arrested Friday in Houston on a warrant for two counts of election fraud linked to the November general election. One count is for voting while knowing she was ineligible to cast a ballot, and the other is for casting a ballot that belongs to another person or by impersonating another person. She was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury.

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"This case demonstrates my office's commitment to protecting the integrity of elections," Paxton said in a statement regarding the case. "We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard the electoral process in Texas."

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Garza remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $150,000 bond — $75,000 per illegal voting charge. If convicted, she faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

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Garza allegedly obtained documents to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally register to vote in Harris County, a joint investigation by Paxton's office and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) determined. She used the alias Angie Yadira Zamora and cast ballots in 2004, 2012 and 2016.

The election fraud investigation launched when a Montgomery County citizen attempted to obtain a U.S. passport only to discover that Garza had already done so using the woman's identity, according to the Attorney General's Office. The AG's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division will continue to work together on the investigation and prosecution.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott applauded Garza's indictment on Twitter Monday, saying, "Texas will continue to fight cheating & illegal voting at the ballot box."

While Texas state leaders have long railed against illegal voting, politicians have ratcheted up their attention on voter fraud in recent years. President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued "millions of people" voted illegally for Democrat Hillary Clinton, robbing him of the popular vote. In the 2016 election, Trump won the Electoral College, but lost the popular vote by 2.8 million votes.

Trump has not produced evidence to support the existence of massive voter fraud, but Republicans in Texas have sought to stiffen penalties for illegal voting, including passing a mail ballot fraud bill during a 2017 special legislative session.

Abbott has argued that "voter fraud is rampant," although Politifact has reviewed records and determined that illegal voting is rare here.

Paxton, also a Republican, announced shortly after Trump took office he would crack down on voter fraud. And Texas officials have done just that.

Crystal Mason, of Tarrant County, was sentenced to five years in prison last March for voting while on probation. She said she wasn't planning to vote in the November 2016 election until her mother convinced her. Recently released after serving time for a tax fraud conviction, she said no one told her should couldn't vote.

When poll workers couldn't find her name on the list of registered voters, they suggested she fill out a provision ballot. She said she skimmed and signed the form, but never saw a reference that she was attesting that she was not on parole.

In 2017, another woman from the Dallas area was convicted on an illegal voting charge. Maria Ortega, a permanent resident, said she didn't know she voted illegally in the 2012 and 2014 elections.

A Dallas resident since she was 15, she falsely claimed she was a U.S. citizen on a voter registration form. She said she did not realize she did not have a right to vote as a legal resident. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, likely to be followed by deportation.

Jennifer Summer contributed to this report.

andrea.zelinski@chron.com

Twitter.com/andreazelinski