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Friday, March 28, 1997

Police charge octogenarian with ballot tampering

MERCEDES, Texas (AP) - An 87-year-old woman has been charged with tampering with a government record after she allegedly arranged for people to sign blank absentee ballots and then filled in the votes herself.

Because of her age, Anita Fernandez Vega of Mercedes was released on a personal recognizance bond after being arraigned on the Class B misdemeanor charge, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Officials said at least five questionable ballots were turned in, but they did not know the total number.

"I filed (charges) on five cases, but there were way more than that," said Carlos Torres, an investigator for the Hidalgo County district attorney's office.

Mrs. Vega could not be reached for comment. A man claiming to be her son told the Valley Morning Star that she did not want to discuss the case.

"She doesn't want to say anything," said the man, who refused to give his name. "She can't really say anything about it. ... She's old. She doesn't know what to say."

Mrs. Vega is accused of tampering with last May's city commission race between Jaime Garza and Joe Flores Jr., Commissioner David Garza said. Jaime Garza won the seat. It was not known for whom Mrs. Vega's votes were cast.

Torres said it was too late for the fraud allegations to affect the election outcome.

Absentee ballots may be picked up by anyone at the Hidalgo County clerk's office, officials said. Volunteers may pass out ballots to voters, who then are supposed to mail them back or hand-deliver them themselves.

In this case, Torres said, Mrs. Vega would pick up the ballots and take them to registered voters.

"She would just get people to sign the darn thing, and she would hand-deliver them to whoever was in charge of the election," he said.

Torres, who said he did not think anyone else was involved in the alleged scam, said Mrs. Vega "relies on her age to get by with it." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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