Two people who worked as election clerks during the May 2016 primary runoff have pleaded guilty to unlawfully casting a ballot for another person, Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart announced Monday.
Jeanene Johnson, 63, and Latunia Thomas, 46, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “unlawful deposit of ballot” earlier this month. They served one day in jail, and were released, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s office.
With Johnson’s help, Thomas cast a ballot for her daughter at a Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services building during early voting for the May 24, 2016 primary runoff, according to Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. He said Thomas’ daughter was not present at the polling location….
Both defendants were charged with a felony, but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. The two were investigated after other clerks noticed the pair casting the ballot, Stanart said.
Stanart said that obtaining convictions on such crimes is rare. He said this month’s convictions were the most significant finding and prosecution of voter fraud in the last decade-and-a-half.
The Texas attorney general’s office has received more than 700 reports of voter fraud since 2002, but has prosecuted only 93 since 2005.