AZ AG Mark Brnovich has announced that two people that are tied to an alleged 2020 ballot harvesting scheme in Yuma County, AZ, have been indicted. One of the women who’s been indicted is Gloria Lopez Torres, who is a current member of the San Luis Council.
Former San Luis Mayor Guillermina Fuentes—who was serving as a local school board member—and another woman, Alma Yadira Juarez, were sentenced last week for their role in the same 2020 ballot-harvesting scheme. Fuentes, a Democrat, was ordered on Oct. 13 to turn herself into the Yuma County Jail, said Brnovich.
Both Fuentes and Juarez pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of ballot abuse.
Here’s the story:
Here is the AZ AG’s News Release:
YUMA – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that Gloria Lopez Torres of San Luis, and Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin of San Luis, also known as Nadia Buchanan, have been charged by the State Grand Jury with Conspiracy and Ballot Abuse arising from an alleged “ballot harvesting” scheme where early ballots from other voters were collected and deposited into a ballot box on primary Election Day, August 4, 2020. The City of San Luis held municipal elections on that date.
The Grand Jury indictments, returned on October 3, 2022, allege that Torres collected seven ballots from Lizarraga-Mayorquin, and that Lizarraga-Mayorquin collected at least one ballot from a third party.
Arizona law only provides for a family member, household member, or caregiver of the voter to collect voted or unvoted early ballots from another person. Under Arizona law ballot harvesting is a class 6 felony.
This investigation was conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, Election Integrity Unit.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson is prosecuting this case.
They are accused of conducting a scheme to collect “early ballots from other voters” and deposit them in a ballot box during the state’s primary election in August 2020.
Torres is accused of collecting seven ballots from Lizarraga-Mayorquin, according to grand jury indictments that were returned earlier this month. Lizarraga-Mayorquin collected at least one ballot from a third party that was not disclosed.
Epoch Times reports – State law only provides for a family member, household member, or caregiver to collect early ballots from another individual in Arizona, said the office of Brnovich, a Republican, in a news release.
The indictments allege that the unlawful activity started around July 12, 2020, and ran until Aug. 4, 2020—the primary election day. The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office obtained video footage of alleged ballot harvesting near a polling station in San Luis, the indictment said.
“A group of subjects, lead by Guillermina Fuentes were seen on video manning a table and appearing to be supporting particular candidates,” the report from the Arizona Attorney General’s office said. “A female identified as Alma Juarez approached the table and made contact with a second female identified as Guillermina Fuentes. Fuentes is ultimately observed taking a ballot from Juarez.”
